Newcastle 1-1 West Ham - Match Report: Magpies battle for draw against much improved Hammers

Newcastle United went into this fixture knowing they would be without the suspended Bruno Guimaraes, a player who is nothing short of irreplaceable for Eddie Howe’s side.

The issue forced a change in Howe’s plans. Joelinton had to drop deeper down the field opening a hole on the left wing. Enter Allan Saint-Maximin, coming in relief for the Brazilian.

A chance, thought by many, that the Frenchman had to take and make the most of.

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Newcastle made a quick start to the game with Joe Willock’s strike inside the first minute ruled out by VAR, after the ball had just crossed the line before Miguel Almiron had got to it.

The Magpies didn’t have to wait long before they were celebrating again. Just two minutes, in fact, as Callum Wilson breathed a huge sigh of relief as he finally found the net for the first time this year finally breaking out of a 10-game skid.

Sean “The ScapeGOAT” Longstaff threaded an excellent ball through to Wilson, who was handed far too much space by West Ham’s three-man defense before slotting past Fabianski. Those watching live on location enjoyed the buildup. Those watching DAZN only got to watch the final strike. Not that any went wrong.

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As the game wore on West Ham grew more confident and started to control the midfield, with Declan Rice particularly impressing at St James’ Park. It was the Hammers captain who set up the equalizer from a corner, as his delivery found Parqueta and turned the ball beyond Nick Pope. The Newcastle shot-stopper missed the chance to become the first English ‘keeper to record seven consecutive Premier League clean sheets.

Anthony Gordon’s debut from the bench following his £45m move from Everton livened up the Newcastle fans as he replaced Saint-Maximin—the French himself enjoying his first Premier League start since August.

Gordon produced some excellent passes and his movement looked like a real threat to West Ham. The former Toffee thought he had an assist to his name after threading a lovely ball through to Wilson only for the England international to be impressively tackled by Aguerd as he was about to pick his spot.

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West Ham were able to comfortably hold onto a draw that keeps them one point above the relegation zone and extends their unbeaten run to three matches in all competitions. While Newcastle extend their unbeaten run to 16 matches and counting.

After the game, supporters from the Toon Army were quick to take to Twitter and criticize Saint-Maximin’s performance. While it wasn’t his best game by any means, perspective and patience are needed with Newcastle’s number 10 only playing two ninety minutes in six months.

Saint-Maximin needs to have a run in the side to regain his rhythm and build up his confidence. There is no doubt that he will be an important player for Newcastle for the remainder of this season. He just needs time.