Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United travelled back to Tyneside from East London with all three points after a fortunate Bruno Guimaraes winner sealed the deal for the Magpies.
Under pressure only seconds into the match, a disastrous miss from Tomas Soucek spared the Toon Army as the tie remained goalless.
Then, applying the pressure, the Magpies finally separated the two sides in the second 45’ thanks to a delightful ball from Harvey Barnes finding the boot of Bruno G, shoving the ball past Areola for 1-0.
Unable to create anything upfront from then-on, the Hammers failed to clinch anything from the 90 minutes and were denied all three points at home, losing 1-0.
Now sitting in 6th place on their hunt for European football, Newcastle United now look ahead to their clash at Wembley in the Carabao Cup Final against Liverpool at Wembley this Sunday.
Story of the Match
Missing a huge opportunity to take the lead in the premature first few seconds of the match, the Hammers managed to easily break down the Magpies defence thanks to some magic from Mohammed Kudus, whom danced down the left-hand-side and clipped the ball to the feet of Tomas Soucek in the box.
With only the goal at his mercy, the Czech intentional failed to convert from five-yards out, blazing the ball over the crossbar and saving Eddie Howe’s men’s blushes early on.
Looking comfortable with the ball at their feet, the home side continued to stream their attack down the right flank, with both Wan-Bissaka and Bowen influencing the Hammers threat going forward.
The first chance for the visitors was a threatening one, as Guimaraes played a silky smooth pass to the feet of Harvey Barnes on the edge of the penalty area. However, trying to squeeze past a sea of claret and blue was a tough challenge for the former-Leicester City man, as his finishing product was a poor one, rifling his shot into the side netting.
Easing into the game, the Geordie Boys began to threaten Areola more and more, with a great headed ball across goal by Dan Burn to Harvey Barnes forcing the Hammers keeper to stretch wide and prevent the Newcastle forward the opener.
Backing off into their own half, Graham Potter’s side began to soak up the pressure before half-time, with the aging Irons’ midfield struggling to keep up with the intensity of the Toon’s dazzling one.
Playing only two minutes of additional time, the first half soon concluded with the score goalless at 0-0.
Starting the second half off brightly, the Irons began to invade the Newcastle penalty area, with Jarrod Bowen finding Kudus on the edge of the box before the Ghanaian was purged by Schar.
Falling to the ground and appealing for a penalty, the Irons’ complaints were denied quickly by referee Michael Salisbury, whom declared that there would be no spot kick awarded to the home-side.
Searching for the opener, Potter’s side threatened yet again only minutes later, with Kudus easily skipping past Dan Burn and sliding the ball across the face of goal, but only to be met by no-one there infront of Pope to drive it home.
Minutes later, all Hammers fans hearts were in their mouths, as a delightful ball towards Jacob Murphy down the right led to the Englishman ricocheting the ball off Max Kilman, sailing over Areola and looking likely to be nestled over the line for 1-0.
However, some superb athleticism from the Frenchman in goal meant that the Hammers had a lifeline, with the no.23 flinging himself backwards and clawing the ball over the line to deny the Magpies the lead.
The home side’s fortune was only short lived, however, as Newcastle finally broke the deadlock through Bruno Guimaraes, thanks to a delicious ball from Harvey Barnes which sailed over the claret and blue shirts in the box, picking out the Brazilian, whom at full stretch, probed the ball past Areola and into the back of the net for 1-0.
Bruised by the scoreline, Potter quickly introduced four players onto the pitch as Alvarez, Soucek, Todibo and Cresswell made way for Carlos Soler, Lucas Paqueta, Mavropanos, and Brighton loanee Evan Ferguson.
Making an instant impact after returning from an ankle injury, Lucas Paqueta smoothly scooped the ball forward into the penalty area, finding Bowen, who quickly cowered to the floor after being nudged by the Magpies goalscorer.
Screaming for a penalty, the Irons were outraged to not be granted a spot kick from 18-yards yet again, as VAR quickly concluded that their was not enough contact and there would be no penalty awarded.
With the game slowly ebbing away from the home side, a Bowen free-kick quickly emitted to nothing as Nick Pope punched it away for a corner - a corner in which the Hammers could not make useful as the final whistle blew, awarding Newcastle all three points in their race for Europe.
Player of the Match - Bruno Guimaraes
Bossing the black and white midfield, the Brazilian deservedly scored the match winning goal for the Toon Army, to steal three-vital points away from home in Newcastle United’s race for Europe.
Adored by all Geordie fans alike, could Bruno G get his name on the scoresheet this Sunday as the Magpies travel back to London, this time to Wembley, to face the ferocious Liverpool in the highly anticipated Carabao Cup Final?
