LONDON, CMC – Jamaica striker Michail Antonio made a confident return from injury with a first-half equalizer for West Ham. However, a late collapse enabled hosts Newcastle to come from behind and take a 4-3 win in the English Premier League on Saturday.
Antonio’s 21st-minute strike, along with goals from Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen either side of half-time, looked to have put the Hammers on course for a valuable victory at St James Park.
The Hammers had headed to the northeast to extend their unbeaten run to five EPL matches, but those hopes were dashed stunningly when they relinquished a two-goal lead with 13 minutes to play.
Newcastle put a big dent in the hopes of their London-based opponents securing European qualification while enhancing theirs.
The Hammers had an inauspicious start when Vladimír Coufal fouled Anthony Gordon inside the West Ham penalty area in the third minute, and referee Rob Jones confirmed his decision after a three-minute VAR check.
Alexander Isak then sent West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola the wrong way from the spot to give Newcastle the lead after six minutes.
Antonio equalized when he finished a superb build-up by running onto a through ball from Lucas Paquetá through ball and confidently striking it past Newcastle goalie Martin Dúbravka.
An injury to Newcastle defender Jamaal Lascelles and a series of stoppages meant 10 minutes were added to the first half. They were full of incidents and culminated with Kudus firing the ball past Dúbravka with his right foot after Bowen’s cutback from a Paquetá quickly taken free kick to give the Hammers a 2-1 lead at half-time.
West Ham had a goal to celebrate within three minutes of the resumption when Kudus rode two challenges before playing in Bowen, who fired a low shot across Dúbravka and into the bottom corner.
The Hammers got into trouble in the 77th minute when they failed to clear danger from their box and conceded a second penalty with substitute Kalvin Phillips knocking over Gordon.
Referee Jones initially did not make the decision, but he overruled himself after a trip to the pitch-side VAR screen.
Isak duly stepped up and sent Łukasz Fabiański, who replaced the injured Areola for the third time this year at half-time, the wrong way to score.
After returning from a two-match absence due to a thigh injury, Harvey Barnes was introduced as a substitute in the 67th minute and saved the day for Newcastle to score twice in the final 10 minutes.
Barnes first raced clear before nutmegging Fabiański to score in the 83rd minute. Then, in the 90th minute, he sidestepped Phillips and fired unerringly inside the far post to send the home supporters wild with delight.
There was further drama during injury when Newcastle was reduced to 10 after Gordon received a second yellow card for petulantly kicking the ball away. Still, the hosts managed to hold out for a win that could prove vital in pursuing European football.
The result was not altogether a surprise because the venue was not the happiest hunting grounds for the Hammers, who have won only five times in 25 previous EPL visits and 11 in 71 in total dating back 113 years.
West Ham hold onto seventh in the standings on 44 points – one point ahead of eighth-placed Newcastle.
and then 