Soon after the final whistle on Wednesday, my best mate Jon showed me a text he sent to El Jefe, Iain;
“Iain. As Hautzig yet again proved that good things happen to us in a relegation battle when Dave DOESN’T watch the match, please confirm that you have *%#@-canned him from writing any further games this season. We are all grateful for your sacrifice.”
I’ll tell you, the thought definitely crossed my mind. I have had far better luck when ignoring this club than when paying attention. My most famous run of form was the Great Escape, when I didn’t watch or listen to a single second of any of the final nine matches. My current infamous run is being winless in every trip I’ve taken to the London Stadium. Four defeats and one lone draw. But Iain didn’t reply to Jon, so here I am, worried about shirking my pseudo-journalistic responsibility’s. I think had I chosen to do yard work this morning we would have won.
After his winning goal on Wednesday, there was chatter about whether or not Yarmolenko should start today. Bowen has played very, very well since his move from Hull so he kept his spot in the starting eleven. Early on he justified that choice when he ran onto a rolling pass from Fornals and put the ball across the Newcastle eighteen yard box. Fernandez should have put the ball far from danger, but he completely fluffed his lines and Antonio had the ball all alone in front of Dubravka. Sometimes with that much time a player, not just Antonio, can panic. Not today.
Newcastle 0
West Ham 1
Five minutes later Newcastle were awarded a free kick from about 25 yards out, right near the top of the Hammers penalty area. Gayle took the free kick and went low. The ball took a deflection off the wall and forced Fabianski to change direction and make a good save low to his right. Moments later West Ham were back on the attack, and Rice sent a looping pass that Antonio chased down and got a shot on goal that Dubravka handled easily.
The visitors lead didn’t last that long. In the 18th minute, Newcastle broke and then broke down the West Ham defense. Saint-Maximin sent a pass off the outside of his right foot to a streaking Krafth on the right. Nobody on the West Ham defense tracked former MLS star Almiron running into the box, and when Krafth rolled the ball in front of goal Almiron was there to direct it in.
Newcastle 1
West Ham 1
In the way Traore of Wolves instills pure terror in defenders (not to mention opposition supporters), Saint-Maximin has a similar effect. In the 27th minute he won a free kick after a strong run, and when Shelvey stepped up to take the set piece I was decidedly anxious. But Diop cleared the delivery and West Ham seemed to be settling down from giving up the equalizer.
West Ham started to apply a little pressure, and after a good ball from Rice to Cresswell, the West Ham left back took a low shot that Bowen was able to get a touch on that forced a fine save from Dubravka. That started a decent stretch on the ball for West Ham. They moved the ball around, tracked back when losing possession, but couldn’t get a clear shot on goal. A free kick from Cresswell won a corner, which Bowen inexplicably took short, but the Hammers were able to work the ball back into the box for a headed attempt by Antonio.
Halftime
Newcastle 1
West Ham 1
As the second half began, I finished my sourdough toast with butter and raspberry jam and fretted over the corner conceded by Ogbonna. Thankfully we defended well and breakfast wasn’t ruined.
Early in the second half, the camera showed Noble speaking to Nolan prior to coming on as a substitute. But with West Ham looking much better in terms of pressure and closing down, I couldn’t understand the thinking there with the game level. Moments later Noble replaced Lanzini, who certainly didn’t look on his game but to my mind still offered a better opportunity for a second goal than the captain.
From his first match for us in January, Soucek was one of the reasons going down would be awful. Losing him to relegation would be a bitter pill. Fredericks won a corner in 62nd minute, and the delivery found Rice on the far post. His header went off the bar and right to Soucek, who calmly put it in the back of the net.
Newcastle 1
West Ham 2
Awareness. Where is everyone on the pitch? While Fornals has shown glimpses of quality, and I think he could become a very good player, he does lose his concentration often. A minute after the jubilation of taking the lead, Fornals played Gayle onside in front of Fabianski. A give and go with Shelvey followed and the often rumored to be coming to East London midfielder slotted the ball past Fabianski.
Newcastle 2
West Ham 2
With ten minutes left, Newcastle made a substitution. Before kickoff, Nigel Kahn texted me with a prediction that Man Bun would score against us. He also predicted a draw. At 2-2 late, I could see one of those two predictions coming true. But not both. I started to get very, very nervous.
West Ham came close to scoring a third in the 84th minute when Soucek and Yarmolenko worked together very well at the top of the Newcastle eighteen yard box. The interplay culminated with a great shot by Yarmolenko that Dubravka blocked but couldn’t hold onto. The ensuing corner was handled by Newcastle, and the idea of holding onto the draw started to feel comforting.
West Ham attacked again late, with Bowen winning a corner in the 89th minute. Noble took the set piece, but even though Dubravka couldn’t hold onto the ball Newcastle was able to clear the ball and hold onto it at midfield. The final minutes of the match ticked away, with neither side threatening the opposition goal.
Final Score
Newcastle 2
West Ham 2
Seeing how quickly West Ham gave up the lead on two occasions today, it’s not difficult to understand why the Hammers have given up more points from winning positions than any other team in the league. Still, a point away from home at a place we normally leave empty handed is nothing to completely frown on. As they say, beggars can’t be choosy. We are farther away from the drop now than we were when the day started, and barring a miracle from Villa at Anfield safety is statistically closer now than it was.
We are West Ham.
That is in and of itself a win.