Newcastle United staged a remarkable late comeback to beat West Ham United at St James’ Park in one of the Premier League games of the season.
The home side trailed 3-1 late in the second half and had lost three players to injury but scored three times in 13 minutes to snatch an unlikely victory.
Manager Eddie Howe had talked of using the international break to reset his team’s season, a chance to mount a push for European qualification during the final 10 games of the campaign. At one stage during the second half, that looked an unlikely prospect but now he will hope the nature of this victory can re-energise his side, who had been staring at a fourth defeat in five top-flight matches.
Alexander Isak converted penalties in each half and substitute Harvey Barnes came on to devastating effect, scoring twice, including the 90th-minute winner.
Goals from Michail Antonio, Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen after Isak’s opener had put West Ham in total control, particularly given the injuries suffered by Newcastle’s Jamaal Lascelles, Tino Livramento and substitute Miguel Almiron.
But somehow Newcastle contrived to come up with a way of turning the game around, even navigating a late red card for Anthony Gordon.
George Caulkin and Chris Waugh attempt to analyse a game that defied logic.
How on earth did Newcastle do that?
Lord alone knows, but my goodness it was sweet and my goodness it was needed. Reset, recalibrate and go again; those were the phrases used by Newcastle’s coaching staff during the first-team squad’s training camp in Dubai, but this has been a wearing season of repeat, repeat and do it all again and this exhausting match was like a microcosm.
All those injuries, all those poor concessions, but then a recovery for the ages, the first time Newcastle have come from behind to win any match this season. For much of the game, as players dropped like flies and West Ham took advantage, it looked desperately unlikely.
At 3-1 down, the cause was lost, but momentum switched when Gordon was brought down by Kalvin Phillips for the home team’s second penalty of the match; suddenly West Ham crumbled and St James’ Park sensed the improbable was now possible.
Howe has faced criticism this season for his use of substitutes — he has frequently had very few options to choose from — but on this occasion, their impact was dramatic. Dropping Jacob Murphy back to right-back and bringing on Lewis Hall and Elliot Anderson, as well as Barnes, gave Newcastle a positive outlook. It was an incredible turnaround.
George Caulkin
UNBELIEVABLEEE!!! 🤩
Harvey Barnes makes it 4-3 Newcastle! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/taq6oOePdk
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 30, 2024
How damaging might this latest raft of injuries be?
Jamaal Lascelles was taken off with what appeared to be a knee injury (Stu Forster/Getty Images)
In the end, the story of this match will be the late goals and the nature of the victory, but this would not be a Newcastle Briefing without a section devoted to injury and so here goes with the latest missive from Casualty United. Having already lost Sven Botman and Lewis Miley during the international break, Lascelles, Livramento and Almiron were the next players to fall, with the captain going down in the 11th minute clutching his knee and being replaced by Emil Krafth six minutes later.
The immediate damage was acute. To accommodate Krafth, every other member of Howe’s back four switched positions, with Livramento moving to left-back, Dan Burn stepping inside to left centre-back and Fabian Schar moving to right centre-back. The effect was unsettling and West Ham’s equaliser came from a ball between Schar and Krafth which set Antonio free.
Michail Antonio equalises brilliantly for West Ham 🤩 pic.twitter.com/3K0M6EaJyU
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 30, 2024
In bigger-picture terms, an extended absence for Lascelles would leave Howe with few options in the centre of his defence for the run-in. Livramento succumbed after appearing to catch his boots in the turf in the second half, while Almiron came off, also with a knee problem, 10 minutes after his arrival as a substitute. It never rains, but it pours.
George Caulkin
Why do Newcastle keep conceding counter-attack goals?
It might seem churlish to think about it now given the result but, in four matches at St James’ Park across four months, an almost identical glaring deficiency has been exploited by different opponents: an inability to defend on the counter-attack.
Nottingham Forest, Luton Town, Bournemouth and now West Ham have all scored in that manner and while it was not ultimately costly here, it is a problem for Howe.
Newcastle were far too open for Antonio’s opener, when one ball over the top cut out the back four and was not mopped up by Martin Dubravka, who remained in his area, but it was for West Ham’s third goal that the home side’s defending was particularly appalling.
From Newcastle’s own corner, Tomas Soucek headed the ball to Kudus, who beat a couple of players before advancing down the left wing. Livramento came across to try to cover, but Kudus centred to Bowen, who was left in acres of space, with Newcastle’s defenders simply not retreating quickly enough. Again, Dubravka was hesitant in whether to come or go, and really did neither, allowing Bowen to slot home.
Last season, there was a solidity about Newcastle but this term there has been a brittleness which opponents are far too regularly capitalising upon. Across their past 15 games, Newcastle have conceded three or more goals on seven occasions and they cannot regularly rely on scoring four times to win matches at this level.
Chris Waugh
What did Howe say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What next for Newcastle?
Tuesday, April 2: Everton (H), Premier League, 7.30pm BST, 2.30pm ET
Newcastle did the home and away double over Everton last season and have won the clubs’ past three meetings at St James’ Park, but lost 3-0 at Goodison Park in December, kicking off a dismal run of seven defeats in eight in all competitions.
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(Top photo: Michelle Mercer/Newcastle United via Getty Images)
