Harvey Barnes has spent much of the season sitting on a physiotherapy table at Newcastle’s training ground but, having finally stepped off it, the forward has flung open a window offering tantalising glimpses of exciting European vistas.
Barnes scored two late goals in a brief substitutes’ cameo, turning a game that West Ham had led 3-1 on its head – not to mention damaging not only the visitors’ own European ambitions but the job security of their manager, David Moyes.
There were moments when Eddie Howe’s position at St James’ Park looked in danger of becoming less than secure but thanks to stellar performances from Barnes, Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon, an injury ravaged side evidently energised by a recent break in Dubai rallied to seal victory.
It did not take long for Isak to send Alphonse Areola the wrong way from the penalty spot and score his sixth goal in eight Premier League games. That spot-kick was awarded after Gordon marked his return from England duty by cleverly manoeuvring himself between Vladimir Coufal and the ball. Sure enough, the defender was provoked into conceding what briefly, and for quite a while deceptively, appeared an afternoon-defining penalty.
For a few minutes it seemed as if the game might run away from West Ham but Newcastle lost their rhythm after their captain, the centre-half Jamaal Lascelles, limped off nursing a knee injury.
Shortly after a resultant defensive reshuffle featuring Emil Krafth’s introduction at right-back, Lucas Paquetá lifted a sublime through ball over the top of Newcastle’s defence. Michail Antonio, who was just onside, swivelled away from Fabian Schär and made the most of Martin Dubravka’s initial indecision about whether to back off or not by shooting expertly beyond the Slovakia goalkeeper.
Bruno Guimarães had become increasingly embroiled in a highly intriguing midfield duel with his Brazil teammate Paquetá. Not about to be upstaged by the latter, Guimarães soon struck the bar.
By then the otherwise excellent Gordon should probably have already restored Newcastle’s lead but, after connecting with Jacob Murphy’s cross, the winger headed wide with Areola surely beaten.
Happily for Moyes, Mohammed Kudus proved rather more accurate after meeting Jarrod Bowen’s delivery. He directed a rising shot past Dubravka after Paquetá’s swiftly taken free-kick.
That prompted an outpouring of fury from the Gallowgate End as they reminded the referee, Rob Jones, that Schär had been down with a head injury when the Ghanaian scored. Somewhat ironically, Schär had sustained the damage in the process of fouling Kudus to concede the set piece from which West Ham scored.
While Schär re-emerged for the second half, it was no surprise that Lukasz Fabianski replaced Areola after the latter spent the closing stages of the first period unable to kick the ball any distance.
Dubravka could have been forgiven for wishing he, too, could have bowed out at the interval. He picked the ball out of the back of the net for a third time after Bowen stroked his 15th Premier League goal of the season past him from the edge of the area two minutes into the second half.
A particular slapdash passage of Newcastle defending left an accelerating Bowen left clean through in acres of space as he was played in by Kudus’s smart counterattack after a home corner.
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Howe responded with a triple substitution, replacing the injured Tino Livramento and the out-of-sorts Joe Willock and Krafth with Miguel Almirón, Elliot Anderson and Lewis Hall. His team duly perked up a bit, forcing Konstantinos Mavropanos into a couple of important defensive interceptions only for Almirón to suddenly pull up with a hamstring injury. He duly made way for Barnes.
By then Isak and Sean Longstaff had missed a sitter apiece for Newcastle as Moyes took the precaution of sending Kalvin Phillips on in Antonio’s stead.
With Schär looking as if he, too, had strained a hamstring, West Ham’s lead look fairly secure. Or at least it did until a VAR review prefaced the award of a penalty after Gordon went into near-carbon copy mode and squeezed himself between Phillips and the ball, drawing a foul.
Once again Isak stepped forward and delighted in beating Fabianski from 12 yards. An incandescent Moyes seemed adamant that Gordon had tricked the officials by strategically placing a foot in the way of intended defensive clearances and there should have been no penalty.
While West Ham’s manager was shown a yellow card for arguing, vehemently, with Jones and his colleagues, Howe could reflect that his side’s best two individuals here – and by some distance – had combined to bring Newcastle back to life.
Suddenly an equaliser beckoned and it arrived when Barnes embarked on a subtly bending run culminating in a low shot that nutmegged Fabianski. The substitute goalkeeper was soon beaten again as Gordon cued Barnes up to send a shot swerving beyond him from 20 yards but the drama was far from done.
In the fifth minute of stoppage time, Gordon collected a second yellow card and was sent off for foolishly kicking the ball after conceding a free-kick. It means he will miss Tuesday night’s game against his former club, Everton.
Source: theguardian.com
