Harvey Barnes’ brace fired Newcastle United to a dramatic 4-3 win over West Ham at St James’ Park in a tense thriller.
Barnes struck a 90th minute winner from Anthony Gordon’s cutback pass to complete a comeback win, having initially scored their third goal in the 83rd minute from Isak’s through ball.
Isak had netted penalties in the sixth and 77th minute after Gordon had been fouled by Vladimir Coufal and Kalvin Phillips respectively.
Gordon however was red carded in injury time after he kicked the ball out of play as Newcastle finished with ten men.
West Ham had come from behind to lead 3-1 through Michail Antonio’s initial 21st minute equaliser, before Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen had put them ahead with clinical strikes.
Newcastle now sit eighth and one point off the seventh-placed Hammers with the race for an European spot now even more open, although West Ham can qualify for Europe by winning this season’s UEFA Europa League.
Speaking to TNT Sports post-match, Barnes praised his teammates for their fighting spirit and togetherness.
“With the way the game was going, the second goal there was a bit of controversy, but we have always had that team spirit and today is one of those days we’ll remember for a long time.
“It has been a tough season for me and I have missed that feeling so much. My playing time has been limited so every time I am on the pitch I went to help the team. The atmosphere here is always amazing. Today it is a winner and it is a great feeling.”
With a potential European spot at stake come end of season, Newcastle and West Ham knew that defeat here could be a defining moment in their league campaigns.
Eddie Howe’s Magpies soon drew first blood as Gordon burst up the left only for him to be fouled by Coufal as they scrapped over a cleared pass, which led referee – Robert Jones to point to the penalty spot.
Video Assistant Referee (VAR) subsequently spent two-and-a-half minutes checking for an offside amidst boos from spectators, before Isak stepped up and smashed his penalty into the bottom-left corner.
Isak missed a chance to net a second goal in the tenth minute as he flicked Bruno Guimaraes’ pass over the bar, from which West Ham subsequently broke forward and Jamaal Lascelles suffered an awkward knee injury as he battled Antonio for the ball.
Lascelles eventually couldn’t continue and was substituted in the 17th minute for Emil Krafth, which triggered a defensive reshuffle as Krafth went to right-back, with Tino Livramento switched to left-back whilst Dan Burn moved into the left centre-back position.
That unexpected reshuffle left Newcastle vulnerable in the following minutes as Antonio fired wide in the 18th minute, before he pounced upon Lucas Paqueta’s overhead kick three minutes later and smashed in an equalising goal beyond Martin Dubravka.
The rest of the first half subsequently became end-to-end as Gordon wasted three chances for Newcastle, whilst Bowen saw a 37th minute shot saved by Dubravka after he pounced upon Kurt Zouma’s flicked pass.
Neither team seemed able to find a second goal before half-time as Guimaraes hit the bar whilst no penalty was awarded for Burn’s foul on Kudus.
Kudus however found West Ham’s second goal in the 10th minute of first-half injury-time as he smashed into the far-left corner from a quick free-kick, after Jones waved play on whilst Fabian Schar was down with a head injury following a collision with Kudus.
Newcastle’s dream start turned nightmare worsened just three minutes into the second half as Kudus cleared a corner, and teed up Bowen on the counter-attack to fire in beyond Dubravka’s reach to extend West Ham’s lead.
Howe subsequently made a triple change barely 10 minutes later with substitute, Krafth amongst those to be substituted. as the Swede was replaced by Lewis Hall with Newcastle desperately chasing the match as Miguel Almiron and Elliott Anderson also came on.
Further injury woes loomed as Fabian Schar and Gordon tweaked their hamstrings, whilst Almiron had to be substituted barely ten minutes after he came on for Livramento who too went off injured.
With their injuries now piling up rapidly, Newcastle could of imploded but Barnes forced West Ham substitute – Lukasz Fabianski into a 72nd minute save, after Fabianski had replaced Alphonse Areola following an injury to the Frenchman.
A goalmouth scramble two minutes later ended with Gordon having been fouled by West Ham substitute, Kalvin Phillips who caught him as he cleared the ball, with a penalty only awarded after a VAR review.
Isak stepped up in the 77th minute and dispatched the penalty into the bottom-left corner again despite facing a different goalkeeper on this occasion, which offered Newcastle late hope of snatching a comeback draw.
That prospect lifted the home crowd to another electric gear which hit a new peak in the 83rd minute as Isak turned provider, with a through ball which Barnes rifled in beyond a helpless Fabianski to restore parity to the jubilation of a packed St James’ Park.
Newcastle almost won the game three minutes later as Longstaff teed up Barnes with a low cross to the left-post, which evaded the ex Leicester player’s reach.
Barnes ultimately found his second goal and a 90th minute winner after he met Gordon’s cutback pass and curled into the far-bottom right corner, which sparked wild celebrations amongst the home crowd.
Newcastle however finished with ten men after Gordon was red carded in the fifth minute of injury-time, having kicked the ball out of play but the Magpies clung on for victory in a pulsating encounter for the ages.
What’s Next?
Newcastle continue their push for European qualification against relegation-battling Everton at St James’ Park on Tuesday 2 April at 7:30pm BST.
West Ham meanwhile host London rivals, Tottenham, that same evening in a 8:15pm kick-off at London Stadium.
Teams
Newcastle: Martin Dubravka, Tino Livramento (Almiron 56′, Barnes 67′), Jamaal Lascelles (Krafth 17′, Hall 57′), Dan Burn, Sean Longstaff, Bruno Guimaraes, Joe Willock (Anderson 57′), Jacob Murphy, Alexander Isak, Anthony Gordon
Substitutes: Paul Dummett, Matt Ritchie, Harvey Barnes, Emil Krafth, Loris Karius, Lewis Hall, Miguel Almiron, Elliott Anderson, Joe White
West Ham: Alphonse Areola (Fabianski 45′), Vladimir Coufal (Ings 90+4′), Konstantinos Mavropanos, Kurt Zouma, Emerson Palmieri, James Ward-Prowse (Johnson 83′), Tomas Soucek, Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta, Mohammed Kudus, Michail Antonio (Phillips 69′)
Substitutes: Lukasz Fabianski, Ben Johnson, Aaron Cresswell, Kalvin Phillips, Maxwel Cornet, Danny Ings, Angelo Ogbonna, George Earthy, Divin Mubama
Referee: Robert Jones
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