Newcastle United came from behind to secure a spectacular 4-3 win against West Ham in the Premier League at St James’ Park on Saturday (30 March).
The home side made a strong start after Alexander Isak gave them an early lead from the penalty. There were doubts regarding whether Anthony Gordon was offside in the build-up to the goal, but after a long VAR check-up, the penalty decision stood.
The injury to skipper Jamaal Lascelles saw the Magpies shuffling the pack at the back and the decision from Eddie Howe completely backfired. West Ham pulled one back through Michail Antonio before Mohammed Kudus added another after the break.
Jarrod Bowen immediately scored after the restart to make it 3-1. Isak scored again in the 77th minute from spot-kick after Kalvin Phillips had fouled Gordon in the box.
The stage was nicely set for Harvey Barnes to show his class, and he scored two massive goals as Newcastle sealed all three points. Chris Sutton was full of praise for the 26-year-old attacking midfielder and hailed him as “wonderful” for his effort.
What Sutton said about Barnes in Newcastle win v West Ham
Sutton said to BBC Radio 5: “This is some finish from Harvey Barnes, twenty yards out, lets the ball roll across his body and he thumps it into the far bottom corner.
“Wonderful finish, what an impact from Harvey Barnes!”
The Magpies were very poor once again defensively. All Howe needed to do was to bring in a like-for-like replacement for Lascelles when he got injured. But instead, he shuffled the pack completely, and the Magpies looked shaky throughout the afternoon.
The substitutions made in the first half were poor, but the player who came on in the second half made a massive impact. Barnes has struggled with injuries throughout the campaign but he has proved his class today.
Once again, Newcastle have faced problems with injuries. Apart from Lascelles, Tino Livramento and Miguel Almiron also picked up injuries during the game. Anthony Gordon will also miss the next game after he picked up a red card against the Hammers.
