TOMAS SOUCEK AND Aaron Wan-Bissaka combined to burst Newcastle’s bubble as West Ham handed under-pressure boss Julen Lopetegui breathing space with a priceless Premier League away win.
Soucek headed the Hammers into a first-half lead in front of a largely stunned crowd of 52,094 at St James’ Park before Wan-Bissaka’s first goal for the club ended the Magpies’ three-game winning run in all competitions with a 2-0 defeat which prevented them from climbing into the top six.
Eddie Howe’s men were culpable for both goals, but also guilty of not using the wealth of possession they enjoyed effectively enough on a night when chances went begging.
By contrast, the visitors were lethal on the break and produced the most fluent passages of play to leave Tyneside more than satisfied with a job well done.
The visitors took a 10th-minute lead when Soucek was left criminally unmarked by Lloyd Kelly, deputising for the suspended Dan Burn, to power home a header from Emerson Palmieri’s corner.
Joe Willock whipped a shot just wide of Lukasz Fabianski’s left post but, with Paris St Germain loanee Carlos Soler linking well with Lucas Paqueta in the centre of midfield and Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville taking a direct approach from the flanks, the Hammers were a constant threat on the counter.
Sean Longstaff headed straight at Fabianski from Anthony Gordon’s floated 29th-minute cross and Lewis Hall sent a skidding shot just past the upright as the hosts responded.
Fabianski blocked Gordon’s 36th-minute shot from point-blank range after defender Jean-Clair Todibo had failed to deal adequately with Longstaff’s low cross, and Alexander Isak, who had earlier seen a good finish ruled out for offside, blasted off target after controlling Bruno Guimaraes’ cross on his chest, although he may again have gone marginally too soon.
Nick Pope had to pluck Bowen’s dipping snapshot from under his crossbar deep into added time, but the first half ended with the visitors a goal to the good.
Harvey Barnes, who scored twice inside the final seven minutes in Newcastle’s 4-3 comeback win in the corresponding fixture last season, replaced Willock at the break and helped his side lay siege to the West Ham goal in an early flurry.
Gordon’s 51st-minute prod sailed just the wrong side of the far post with Fabianski beaten, but Wan-Bissaka enjoyed better fortune two minutes later when he ran on to Bowen’s pass inside and steered a shot across Pope and in off the upright.
The hosts were in disarray at the back and it took a series of blocks and Pope’s saves from Soucek and Soler to preserve their hopes of a fightback.
Substitute Sandro Tonali sent Tino Livramento away down the right to cross for Isak, but the misfiring Sweden international was unable to direct his header at goal, and Callum Wilson’s penalty appeals, to his astonishment, were waved away on his first appearance of the season following a clumsy challenge by fellow substitute Konstantinos Mavropanos.
The only reason they won the six nations last year is because Scotland and ourselves played the majority of the game with 14 or less men and they were awarded the most dubious of tries against England with the water carriers and medical staff still on the pitch.
@Peter Dunne: Definitely got a good bit more than a slice of luck, but at the same time you make your own too at times and can only play whats infront of you. Players like LRZ, L.Williams, J Tips, AWJ, Wyn Jones, Faletau, Navidi etc were incredible through out for them.
Wales we’re poor really. Fiji we’re unlucky, played well. Rees-Zammit’s try should not have been given, he was clearly not in control of the ball on (attempted) touchdown.
@Teddy O’Brien: In fairness as Berry said, all they look for is separation with the ball and there was none. I partly agree with you tho as the ball rolled up from his palm to wrist, but that’s still contact I guess… Still he probably deserved it for the effort alone. The speed he has is freakishly good.
@Teddy O’Brien: The 2000s called, they want their laws back. There doesn’t need to be control.
@Ultan Corcoran: baloucane faster?
Hopefully the new Super Rugby team can help Fiji progress. The talent is there for them to be a real powerhouse, just need funding to build a genuine international set up!
@TheCraftyCulchie: 5 teams – Us, Scotland, France, Argentina and Fiji have had a man red carded against Wales in the last 9 months
@Jonny Walls: Could it be a tactic? To orchestrate situations where an opposition player has a high risk of fouling. Theoretically, it could be easy enough to do.
@SomeGuy: that would be handy! Hard to do I’d say!
Sau is clearly a bit of an id iot, has a recent history of nasty tackles. Tried to take the head off Connacht’s Niall Murray with a late hit in Touch last season at the Sportsground which unbelievably didn’t even get a yellow card…
https://twitter.com/RonanB/status/1371104555405094913?t=xQVRjAV_64IB7bRwVkdLiw&s=19
Ehhh …….. did wales play a large part of that game against 13? You’d expect them to win. Unlucky fiji but discipline is an issue