Positives and negatives from the win against West Ham

Newcastle United surprised everyone when they scored three goals to defeat West Ham United on the road yesterday.

Newcastle United needed a positive result against West Ham United and they certainly earned all three points at the London Stadium. The Hammers gave the Magpies a late scare with two goals towards the end of the match, but Steve Bruce’s troops did enough to escape with a 3-2 victory.

Yesterday’s offensive performance was undoubtedly the best one for the club since the arrival of Steve Bruce. If Newcastle United can maintain the same level of urgency next weekend then I expect them to claim three points at home against Bournemouth, too. That being said, though, the Magpies were far from perfect against West Ham United, and the team will need to polish a few things up on both ends of the pitch before next weekend’s clash with the Cherries.

Positives

• Newcastle United finally scored more than one goal in a Premier League match. It took them 11 matches, but that objective can finally be scratched off the list. All three goals came from set pieces and it was evident that the players spent a lot of time on the training ground to ensure the proper implementation of those tactics.
• Jonjo Shelvey looked like the player we all know he can be when he is at his best. The mercurial midfielder scored an amazing free kick from 25 yards out and his delivery to Joelinton at the far post to set up the first goal of the match was perfect. Shelvey let Isaac Hayden do most of the dirty work to win the ball back, but Shelvey was spot on with his passes once the ball got back to him.
• Despite not scoring, the Magpies’ attacking trio of Joelinton, Miguel Almiron and Allan-Saint Maximin were a joy to watch yesterday. West Ham United had no answer for containing these three players, especially Almiron and Saint-Maximin when they would break free up the middle and out down the flanks.

Negatives

• Piggy-backing off the last note in the “Positives” section, Saint-Maximin should have done much better in front of goal. The Frenchman was one-on-one with the keeper on two occasions and he wasted both opportunities. I was on my feet thinking he had scored both times, but it was not the case. Saint-Maximin will create more chances in upcoming matches, but he needs to learn from these mistakes and bury easy looks at goal.

• A win is great, but a clean sheet would have been the icing on the cake. Allowing West Ham United to score two late goals pushed the Magpies’ goal differential back to -8. Newcastle United’s defenders need to do a better job of closing matches out. I understand that they have rarely been in the situation of maintaining a lead this season, but they need to be tight and compact for 90 minutes.