And that’s all from me. It wasn’t a great game, with Newcastle in particular decidedly sub-par. They are 14th tonight, five places and eight points below the Hammers, and six points above the bottom three. With 31 points to their name already a couple more wins should see them safe, but they will have to improve on this performance if they are to get them. West Ham didn’t play as well as they can, but then did they have to – though Diop in particular made a series of Benítez-frustrating blocks. Bye!
Rafa Benítez does some chatting:
We had 17 attempts, and I think they were lucky in some of the situations when they were blocking our shots. Both goals were poor. These mistakes against these teams, when they have so much quality in attack, then you pay for that.
You have to credit their defenders. There were two or three occasions when they blocked the shot. In a normal game it would be a clear chance. When you go away and you have 17 attempts, you have to score at least one goal.
We are doing a lot of goo things but we have to keep the focus and the concentration from the first minute until the last minute, and we didn’t do it. We had good situations in the first half, but we were 2-0 down already. We have to be sure that we learn from these mistakes and we are ready for the next game.
He says Longstaff has a problem with his knee, which forced his substitution.
Here’s Nick Ames’ match report from the London Stadium:
West Ham’s supporters came in homage to Billy Bonds, around 20,000 of them taking their seats in the stand that was named after him in a stirring ceremony before kick-off. They left basking in the most routine of victories and enjoying an apposite reminder that their club still produces heroes through the generations.
Declan Rice set them on their way against a dreary Newcastle with a header that Bonds would have admired and embellished his soaring reputation throughout. Mark Noble, a captain who strives to mould himself in Bonds’ image, added a penalty and it capped a game that, for one day at least, captured West Ham’s past and present in perfect harmony.
Much more here:
And Mark Noble also has a chat:
For us the three points were massive. That’s all we were thinking about during the week. If you look at this season, our home results have been really good. We just seem to play well here. The fans are behind us now, I think everyone’s happy where they’re sat in the ground, and the fans appreciate what we’re doing out on the green.
It’s a great balance because you’ve got Snods who works so hard for the team, myself and Dec who balance it out, and then Manu and Felipe who create some special moments for us. Manu, he’s been out seven months and he looked really good tonight. We’ve got a great squad at the minute.
We started so bad here last week against Fulham. [Rice’s goal] was just the start we wanted. I said before we went out, as long as we do our jobs properly, we know when we play here we’re a great side, and we proved that.
Declan Rice has a chat:
I think [we deserved to win[]. We knew we had to be on our game and we said that. We were out of the blocks quick, got an early goal and we kept pushing. We played some lovely stuff at times. Second half I think we were resilient, defended well and got three points which was the main thing.
The goal was massive. It was nice to get on the scoresheet again. This season we’ve made it tough at times for teams to come here and play. With Wolves winning today it’s important that we keep pushing.
Final score: West Ham United 2-0 Newcastle United
90+3 mins: West Ham have won this game of football!
90+2 mins: And Rondon didn’t hit the post with that free-kick – his shot was excellently saved by a diving Fabianski!
90 mins: Save! Masuaku’s cross is intercepted but Arnautovic immediately wins it back and knocks it back to Lanzini, whose curler from 20 yards is well aimed but saved!
89 mins: Now Newcastle can try to score from a free kick, and Diop goes into the book for conceding it. Rondon takes it … and hits the base of the post!
Updated
86 mins: Snodgrass curls the free kick way over the bar.
85 mins: Diamé nibbles at Lanzini’s ankles 25 yards from goal, and is booked. Though Sky say it was Dubravka who was booked, for protesting too loudly.
84 mins: Felipe Anderson intercepts a pass in midfield and runs to the edge of the penalty area before passing inside to Lanzini, off whom the ball breaks to Snodgrass, who tries to backheel it into the net but, well, doesn’t.
82 mins: Nearly an attacking-style thing for Newcastle. Atsu’s low cross picks out Rondon, but Ogbonna throws out a leg to block his shot.
Updated
81 mins: A clever turn from Lanzini inside Newcastle’s penalty area allows him to move away from two defenders, and straight into two different ones.
Updated
80 mins: West Ham call it a standing ovation, and it might indeed have been so. I’m not there to see. On TV it sounded like a smattering of polite applause emanating from the few members of the audience yet to slip into a coma.
The skipper leaves the field to a standing ovation 👏#WHUNEW 2-0 (79) pic.twitter.com/9xIEPpXiym
— West Ham United (@WestHamUtd) March 2, 2019
79 mins: Christian Atsu replaces Isaac Hayden for Newcastle, and West Ham bring on Obiang for Noble, thereby ending the evening’s substitutional activity.
77 mins: it doesn’t help that the crowd appear to have gone to sleep, as if they were making some noise it might stop some viewers noticing how poor this match has been.
74 mins: Newcastle have pushed more players forward since bringing Dummett on, which means that though their attacks continue to be basically hopeless, they are at least less undermanned.
71 mins: Arnautovic might have scored with his first touch, but he can’t get enough contact onto Lanzini’s rabona scross.
70 mins: West Ham make a second change: Hernández goes off, and Arnautovic comes on.
68 mins: Fabianski executes a fancy spin to turn away from Perez, earning a roar from the crowd.
67 mins: Newcastle win a corner and Masuaku wins a booking, for no obvious reason. Ritchie once again picks out a West Ham player, Fredericks actually having duck to head clear under no challenge inside the area.
66 mins: Felipe Anderson has gone on a couple of tasty dribbles in the last few minutes, suggesting he may turn up for the last half-hour.
Updated
65 mins: Newcastle make their second substitution, bringing Paul Dummett on for Fabian Schär.
62 mins: And another one! Masuaku floats the ball into the area where it drops nicely for Hernández, but once he controls it he’s almost at the byline, and his shot was never going in.
59 mins: A half-chance for West Ham! Two Newcastle players get in each other’s way on the halfway line allowing Fredericks to scamper down the right, and Hernández stretches to get a foot to his cross but can’t control his shot.
Updated
58 mins: A Newcastle throw-in is flicked by Hayden to Rondon, whose shot from a tight angle is a) Newcastle’s first effort on target and b) useless, and easily saved. I’m getting a bit grumpy about Newcastle now.
57 mins: West Ham then go down the left and a low cross seems destined for one of two attackers on the far side of the area, only for Lejeune to fly into the picture at the last moment and get in the way.
56 mins: Manquillo cuts in from the right and runs towards the centre, where two attackers stay entirely still. He keeps running until the three of them are basically standing on each other’s toes, and they give the ball away.
53 mins: Ritchie’s corner is headed clear. His deliveries have been disappointing so far this evening.
52 mins: Newcastle probe their way around the midfield, before Ritchie’s cross is deflected behind for a corner.
48 mins: A chance for Newcastle! Perez pokes the ball to Rondon, gets it back, bursts into the penalty area and from near the right-hand corner of the six-yard box drags his shot across goal and wide!
46 mins: Peeeeep! West Ham get the second half under way.
The players are back out. Newcastle need no so much an improvement as a total transformation, but stranger things have happened. They will start the half with Diamé on the pitch, and Longstaff off it.
@Simon_Burnton I give the England ODI side a better chance of winning tonight than Newcastle.
— Cuthbert Artichoke (@bertartichoke) March 2, 2019
Half time: West Ham 2-0 Newcastle
45+6 mins: And that’s the last meaningful action of the half! West Ham have never been much better than OK, but Newcastle have been terrible and deservedly trail.
Updated
45+5 mins: Newcastle win another corner, and this is played in nicely by Ritchie but onto Diop’s head. His clearance is headed back into the box where Perez briefly looks to be clear, but Diop pops up again to put the fire out!
Updated
45+2 mins: Rice finds Masuaku on the left with a nice, quick pass, and he centres for Hernandéz, whose attempted backheel finish finds only a defender’s leg.
45+1 mins: Snodgrass dances around the right wing for a while, bamboozling several Newcastle players, and is finally brought down by Almiron. Felipe Anderson’s free kick is rubbish, and cleared.
45 mins: What with a goal, a penalty and a couple of injury stoppages, there will be five minutes of stoppage time.
GOAL! West Ham 2-0 Newcastle (Noble, 42 mins)
The referee stops Noble mid run-up to deal with some encroachment; the West Ham captain retreats to its start and then hammers his spot-kick into the top left corner. Unstoppable!
Updated
West Ham have a penalty!
The free kick floats to Hernandez, who controls and heads for goal; Lejeune slides in and clips his ankle, and that is a penalty!
Updated
39 mins: Snodgrass and Longstaff commit to winning the same 50/50 ball, 10 yards outside Newcastle’s penalty area. Longstaff got the ball but also quite a lot of man, and is booked (personally I think Snodgrass cannot have gone for that ball without knowing the certain repercussions, and didn’t see a bookable offence).
37 mins: Lanzini shoots into the wall, and then takes the ball back from Snodgrass but this time curls the ball over everyone and out of play for a goal kick.
37 mins: Schar steps across Felipe Anderson, just outside the left-hand corner of Newcastle’s penalty area, and is booked. Plus there’s a potentially testy free-kick to contend with.
Updated
35 mins: Snodgrass chips the ball into the penalty area, where Lanzini has broken the offside trap, but the Argentinian can’t quite bring the ball under control.
34 mins: Newcastle have a corner, from which Ritchie continues his habit of giving Fabianski catching practice.
34 min: Masuaku comes on to replace Cresswell, who doesn’t seem to be limping as he leaves the field.
32 mins: Another injury break: Cresswell is down and it looks like this could be the end of his game. He broke his toe against Fulham a couple of weeks ago, so perhaps this is an old injury rather than a new one.
31 mins: A fine run from Felipe Anderson, coming inside from the left, but with two team-mates to his right and only one defender blocking them he picks out the man in black and white.
30 mins: Noble heads the ball to Fredericks, running into space on the right, but Ritchie goes down under his gentle touch and Newcastle get a free kick.
28 mins: The ball deflects off to Perez inside the penalty area and he turns it into the net, but he’s acres offside.
26 mins: They’ll be less pleased about this, though: Noble flies in late and from behind on Almiron, just outside Newcastle’s penalty area, and is booked. That was ugly and cynical.
25 mins: Noble executes a pleasing pirouette on the halfway line to escape from an attempted challenge. The crowd murmurs its appreciation.
Updated
23 mins: A quarter of the game gone and a goal scored, but I don’t think there has been a single decent attacking move.
20 mins: West Ham keep the ball for a while, passing from right to left and back again, but then Fredericks goes down in an attempt to win a cheap free kick, the referee doesn’t bite and Newcastle get it back.
17 mins: Both players have now recovered, shaken hands, and rejoined the fray.
14 mins: Cresswell seems fine, but Manquillo is still on the floor, while a large amount of bandage is wrapped around his head.
12 mins: Cresswell execute a lovely backheel and then spins to his left, where Manquillo happens to be standing. The players clash heads, and both go down, bleeding.
10 mins: Newcastle work the ball down the right, but as the ball comes in to Rondon Diop sticks out a leg to spoil things.
GOAL! West Ham 1-0 Newcastle (Rice, 7 mins)
West Ham win a corner, Snodgrass curls it into the heart of the penalty area and amid a cluster of players Rice gets his head on it six yards out, giving Dubravka no time to react!
Updated
4 mins: Rondon has the day’s first shot, but it’s hit straight into a defender. Then Ritchie crosses from the left, but a defender gets ahead of Almiron and pokes clear.
3 mins: West Ham are on the front foot, though, and Noble crosses low from the right but there’s nobody on hand to turn it in.
2 mins: The free-kick is taken short, and the resulting cross is charged down. I’ve no idea why so many teams think the best thing to do with a free-kick is to make it as easy as possible for opponents to stop you doing anything with it.
1 mins: West Ham win it straight back, run down the other end and win a dangerous free kick. I’ve no idea why so many teams think the best thing to do with the ball at kick-off is to give it away as quickly as possible.
1 min: They’re off! Newcastle get the game under way, and immediately hoist the ball down the left flank.
And they’re out!
Updated
The players are in the tunnel and ready to come on. Billy Bonds has just cut the ribbon on what is now his stand. Action imminent.
Updated
A quick chat with Manuel Pellegrini:
We must start from this game, of course. In the next four games we play three games here at home. If we continue to have good results and good performances, of course we can achieve something. But first of all we have to think about today’s game against Newcastle.
Rafa Benítez has a chat with Sky:
The main thing always is the workrate of the players. They have an idea what we want them to do, they stick with the plan and they work really hard to try to achieve what we want to achieve every game: three points. We have to do exactly the same that we are doing already: keep focused on the next game, and that’s it.
Tonight also sees the official rechristening of the London Stadium’s East Stand as the Billy Bonds stand, with a variety of special thingamajigs planned:
West Ham make five changes: Cresswell, Noble, Snodgrass, Hernandez and Lanzini are in, while Arnautovic is on the bench. Newcastle stick with the side that beat Burnley the other night.
The teams!
The team sheets are in, and these will be tonight’s protagonists:
West Ham: Fabianski, Fredericks, Diop, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Rice, Noble, Snodgrass, Lanzini, Felipe Anderson, Hernandez. Subs: Arnautovic, Adrian, Obiang, Nasri, Masuaku, Lucas Perez, Antonio.
Newcastle: Dubravka, Manquillo, Lascelles, Lejeune, Schar, Ritchie, Perez, Hayden, Longstaff, Almiron, Rondon. Subs: Dummett, Ki, Diame, Muto, Yedlin, Darlow, Atsu.
Referee: Chris Kavanagh.
Updated
Hello world!
Over their last six weeks and five games, Newcastle have won three and are fourth in the six-week table; West Ham have won one and are 15th (Arsenal, before today’s 3pm kick-offs are taken into account, are top). So, every reason for Newcastle to feel optimistic. “We have to stay calm, we have to approach every game with the same idea that we had from day one: one game at a time, the next one is the most important, the next one is a final for us,” insists Rafael Benítez.
The Hammers have only played twice at home in that period, however, and took four points from those games. Three of their next four matches are at home, including this one, and the other away at Cardiff. Meanwhile Newcastle only played twice away from home in the same timeframe, and got one point from those games. Three of their next four are away. So, every reason for West Ham to feel optimistic – particularly as the last time they played Newcastle, on the first day of December, Benítez’s side were in better form than this having won their last three, and were at home, and were nevertheless beaten 0-3. “We have four strikers fit, we have wingers too, and we are prepared for the last part of the season,” says Manuel Pellegrini. “Newcastle have won their last two games at home so they are in a good moment and we know we will have to play a very good game if we are to get the points here.”
Here’s a refresher on that December match. And welcome!
.png?w=600)
