“Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.”
So said Red to Andy in The Shawshank Redemption. It’s a philosophy that West Ham supporters can relate to. I’ve allowed myself to fall into that trap a few times. When we qualified for Europe through The Intertoto Cup. The promising season under Pards that ended in the FA Cup Final. The Icelandic money. Even the lovely football we played under Zola in his first season. All led me down the primrose path just to eventually pummel me into submission. I have no doubt that’s a small list compared to some of you. So when we won at Anfield and followed it up with a tasty transfer window, I started to get excited. Even from an objective, unemotional standpoint, I’d rather see us have to work on our home form than continue ad nauseum looking hopeless at places like Arsenal and Liverpool. Based on what we saw today, that work is being done.
The opening minutes of the match looked to be dominated not by West Ham or Newcastle but by nerves. The players looked tentative and the crowd was quiet. Probably not just because of the traffic problems in East London. In the 5th minute Colback attempted a through ball to Cisse but the pass was too heavy and Kouyate shielded out for a goal kick. Minutes later Sissoko tried to find Cisse with a cross but the pass was deflected out for a corner, which Thauvin made a mess of.
One of the debates I’ve watched more than participated in has been about Mark Noble and his value to the club. On one side are the detractors saying he’s too slow, lacks invention, and gives up too many free kicks in dangerous areas. On the other side are the supporters saying he’s instrumental in distributing the ball and his work rate is beyond reproach. I’m of the opinion that without Nolan in there with him, Noble has less to do and can thus concentrate on his job and his job alone.
And he’s doing that job as well as he’s ever done.
In the 9th minute, Sakho chested down a long pass from Kouyate. After turning to his left, he back heeled a pass to Noble at the top of the box. Noble then laid the ball off for Payet who sent a laser guided shot into the top corner past a diving Tim Krul to give West Ham their first lead at home of the season.
West Ham 1, Newcastle 0.
Newcastle responded with some pressure, but the West Ham defense wouldn’t let anything get past the back line, let alone Randolph. In the 13th minute, Haidara and Thauvin worked the ball around the area, but Tomkins stepped in and cleared the ball from danger. A minute later Janmaat crossed to Cisse, who laid it off for Colback. The would be Hammer awhile back tried a quick shot but this time Ogbanna got in the way. The blocks were good news. The bad news was West Ham were allowing Newcastle too much time on the ball without closing down.
I have a fantasy. No, not that kind. Well, maybe. But that’s not the point here. Next May, Victor Moses will go to the powers that be at Chelsea, tell them he has loved life under Bilic, has learned how to play the guitar, speaks three new languages, and demand a permanent move to West Ham. We saw more than a few examples tonight of why such a fantasy would be as good as any other, regardless of rating. In the 18th minute, Moses got the ball on the left side. With seemingly nowhere to go, he spun around Janmaat and took off toward the box. He passed to Sakho, but our current first choice striker hesitated and then put a weak shot wide.
For most of the game, Newcastle’s only offensive threat was their right back, Janmaat. A fact that should worry Newcastle supporters to death. In the 20th minute, after a marauding run, Janmaat attempted a pass to Wijnaldum. However, the pass bounced back to Janmaat and his shot went straight to Randolph.
In the 27th minute, West Ham were lucky not to be punished when Noble tried a very ill advised cross the field pass that was intercepted by Colback, who then found Cisse breaking into the area. But the French striker couldn’t get the better of the Italian defender, and Ogbanna cleared the ball from danger.
In the 41st minute, Janmaat was again at the center of the Newcastle attack, or whatever their attempt at offense could be called. He sent Wijnaldum down the right but Ogbanna challenged and the ball bounced back to Janmaat. As Janmaat looked to attempt a shot, he collided with Ogbanna sending the ball out for a corner. Ogbanna stayed down, clutching his hamstring. He had to leave the game, and Jenkinson was brought on to play right back with Tomkins moving to center. After Jenkinson’s last display against Bournemouth, seeing him come on didn’t instill me with a feeling of calm.
West Ham should have doubled their lead in the 43rd minute when Lanzini started a counter with a pass to Payet, who then sent a through ball to Moses on the right. With his power and pace there for all to see, his first touch let him down and he forced an awkward shot well wide. A minute later Lanzini sent a pass into the box for Sakho, who sent the ball back to the far post. Payet saved it from going out and managed to pick out Noble at the top of the area. The Captain tried to volley it home but it went wide.
Halftime. West Ham 1, Newcastle 0.
After the Liverpool game, in his now famous post match interview about busses and handbrakes, Bilic gave what I think is the best explanation of “parking the bus” I’ve ever heard. He also pointed out that when teams come to Upton Park and are organized defensively, we need players with enough creativity and pace to counter or break those defenses down. In the 47th minute, that explanation came to life. After Reid gave up a free kick to yup…Janmaat….West Ham cleared. Moses chased the ball down and muscled Anita off him. He then stopped, shifted to his right to cut inside Anita and let fire. He deserved a goal, and nine times out of ten he will get that goal. This shot, however, slammed off the crossbar and back out to Payet who calmly slid the ball into the net.
West Ham 2, Newcastle 0.
In the 54th minute, Newcastle had one of those moments that, as a neutral, gave me reason to think the Gods may have their cannons aimed right at them. Sissoko got the ball on the right, with Cisse breaking into the box. Sissoko whipped a low cross right at his target. In my minds eye I saw the ball one timed past Randolph. My regular eyes saw the ball bounce off Cisse’s shin and out wide for a goal kick.
In the 68th minute, West Ham were awarded a free kick right at the edge of the box after Perez fouled Noble. One more stride and Anthony Taylor would have pointed at the spot. Up stepped Aaron Cresswell, who showed Newcastle how dangerous he can be on free kicks last year. Unfortunately, Cresswell opted for the near corner and hit the side netting when an attempt at the far corner might have held more promise.
Newcastle had their final chance to make a game of it in the 81st minute when Perez found De Jong at the top of the box. The Dutchman turned quickly and fired a shot that was deflected and needed Randolph’s fingertips to send it over the bar for a corner.
Minutes later, West Ham almost made it three. After what seemed like a hundred West Ham passes and a moment of awe inspiring skill from Payet on Janmaat, Reid tried his luck on goal. The shot was deflected into the path of Sakho who tried to poke it under Krul who was a half step quicker and smothered the ball.
When Andy Carroll replaced Moses in the 88th minute, he was greeted with a roar and applause. I may be projecting my own feelings here, but it seemed different than in the past. Instead of welcoming back from one injury or another with a sense of panic that he needs to save us, it felt more hopeful that AC will add something to an already upbeat squad. Every time he touched the ball, the crowd yelled “shoot!”. An Andy Carroll goal would have been a nice bit of whipped cream on an already tasty evening.
Final Score. West Ham 2, Newcastle 0.
Last year, I wrote an article here in which I said David Moyes was my first choice for manager. All along, my best mate Jon went along with those that wanted Bilic. Ahead of Rafa, ahead of Emery, ahead of Bielsa. In the end, they may be proven spot on. He said he would sort out what happened against Bournemouth, and it looks like he did. We are joint top in goals scored with eleven, so he’s got that end of the pitch working as well. And we are once again unified as supporters.
Maybe Andy Dufresne was right. “Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”
I’ll give hope another shot.