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Newcastle United 2 West Ham 4
The 2020-21 season commenced with a home defeat to Newcastle, so perhaps it’d be premature to conclude anything from the way West Ham start 2021-22. Will they be taking goals to Newcastle? Ray Winstone has on more than one occasion commented that people should ‘gamble responsibly,’ but as a West Ham United fan himself, he should practise what he preaches. Supporting this side is a tough ride whether they’re playing well or badly.
It’s raining in Newcastle, while London hosts an afternoon of beautiful sunny weather. Callum Wilson invariably scores against West Ham, so his goal needs to be got out of the way as soon as possible. The fear of Declan Rice leaving the club have abated, but it’s his slip that lets Allan Saint-Maximin in to cross for Wilson to flat face Newcastle into a fifth minute lead. That’s exactly what I mean by ‘gambling responsibly’. What is to be said about an XI that are only missing Jesse Lingard from last season’s trophy hunters? Unambitious? Thrifty? Cautious? Useless penny-pinchers? Take your pick. West Ham rarely have two good seasons in a row, unless you include 1998-99 to 1999-00, but that was across the end of the last millennium, and our future relatives-to-be will all have been fried by climate change by the next time that occurs…
All credit to Stam, however, as they don’t appear too flustered. However, when they equalise just thirteen minutes later it is a very strange goal indeed that any one of three players seem to have a decent claim on. The ball down the right from Coufal is prodded out by Kieron Clark, the poor man’s Rice, and from the throw Soucek’s wide ball finds Cresswell, whose cross-come-shot is flicked on by Soucek and finished at the far post by Bowen. Who might be offside. No matter, the ball was already over the line. And maybe Soucek didn’t touch it either. The app gives it to Bowen, disallows it, gives it to Soucek, and finally returns it to Cresswell. There you are – the new light touch of VAR versus the wonders of modern technology. Bowen should then make it two after cruising past three defenders, but Woodman beats out his powerful effort. Almiron’s reply strikes the crossbar after Rice has half-blocked it on its journey.
Clark, now beginning to look more like Declan Rice than Rice himself, sees a decent chance skedaddle wide in the 27th minute, before Newcastle score a second. Saint-Maximin is engineering mischief again, and when Matt Richie’s wide cross is lofted into the six yard box, Jacob Murphy stoops to head past an unsighted Fabianski. Wing back to wing back, it’s Murphy’s first Newcastle goal. Benrahma shoots narrowly wide from outside the area on 44 minutes, his effort greeted by praise from Sky’s Bill Leslie. Two first names, so a commentator not to be trusted. Moyes’ half-time team talk better be good.
West Ham start the second half in a more positive fashion, and seven minutes in Rice atones for his earlier error, robbing Saint-Maximin to find Bowen. The fake number 20’s slightly over-hit pass to Antonio is brilliantly controlled by the big man on the left who uses the pace on the ball to hit in a perfect cross that Benrahma heads home. Level again. Four minutes later Fornals expertly finds Coufal wide on the right and his cross targets Antonio, who heads against the post from two yards out. Picking up the loose ball, Fornals is floored by Murphy, and Martin Atkinson gives a spot kick. As Rice managed to miss one last season before he got injured on England duty, and Lingard is nowhere to be seen, Antonio is this afternoon’s Mister Penalty. And Mister Penalty he does, as his placed effort is palmed away by Woodman. Fortunately, Hammer of the Year Tomas Soucek is on hand, escaping his marker to tuck away the rebound. Bill Leslie is still calling him ‘Sow Check’, but no matter.
Two minutes later and a strike from the feet of Mister Penalty registers another in the goals’ column. Last season’s equal top scorer powers up the pitch, collecting a great through ball by Benrahma, himself found out wide by Bowen, and Antonio hammers it home for West Ham’s fourth. It’s his first PL goal in a number 9 shirt, and levels him up with Di Canio’s 47 PL goals, both of them just one ahead of Mark Noble. Of course the old man might well have something to say about that before the end of the season.
Hammers still have twenty minutes to ride out to safely collect all three points, but they do that with a lot less trouble than might have seemed the case at half-time. Hard to believe that it’s just a few months since the last time these two sides played here in front of no fans, and this time Craig Dawson has finished the game on the pitch, cheered by the 3,000 supporters who have made the journey this afternoon.
The last time West Ham started a Premier League season with a win was six years ago, in the final campaign at Upton Park, when Slaven Bilic’s side won their first game for him 2-0, at the Emirates. Moyes still hasn’t signed any outfield players, but he and his back room staff have safely pocketed three points.
1 Lucasz Fabianski, 15 Craig Dawson, 3 Aaron Cresswell, 5 Vladimir Coufal, 21 Angelo Ogbonna, 41 Declan Rice (Captain), 28 Tomas Souček, 20 Jarrod Bowen, 8 Pablo Fornals, 22 Said Benrahma, 9 Michail Antonio
Substitutes: 31 Ben Johnson, 7 Andriy Yarmolenko, 25 Ryan Fredericks
Scorers: Aaron Cresswell, Saïd Benrahma, Tomas Souček, Michail Antonio
