Newcastle 1-1 West Ham: Hammers come back to earn a point

 

As West Ham came from behind to draw at St James' Park, Lucas Paqueta dented Newcastle's Premier League charge.

The 25-year-old Brazilian, a summer target for the Magpies, equalised in the 32nd minute after Callum Wilson ended his 10-game goal drought with an early strike.

A point was all the Hammers deserved after recovering from a poor start in front of 52,256 fans to deny Eddie Howe victory in his 600th game as manager.

The Carabao Cup finalists were without suspended Bruno Guimaraes, and even the introduction of £45million January signing Anthony Gordon for his debut was insufficient.

If Howe was worried about a hangover from Tuesday night's semi-final victory, he didn't have to be, at least not right away, as his team raced out of the blocks.

Wilson latched on to Sean Longstaff's defense-splitting pass and confidently fired past Lukasz Fabianski, his first goal in 11 appearances in all competitions.

Longstaff, Kieran Trippier, and Willock worked to feed Miguel Almiron and the returning Allan Saint-Maximin at regular intervals, pinning the shell-shocked visitors deep within their own territory.

However, as the Hammers gained confidence in the game, they began to threaten on the break, and Sven Botman was forced to make an important save after Michail Antonio had worked his way into a promising position on the edge of the box.

To their credit, the visitors, who had been punished for their poor defending, became far more compact as the half progressed, and while Newcastle still had plenty of possession, they lacked real penetration.

West Ham could have been level after 28 minutes if Said Benrahma hadn't spooned his shot high over Nick Pope's crossbar after the Magpies had conceded possession inside their own half, and Paqueta went close twice within seconds, seeing his first attempt blocked and his second deflected wide, with the home side guilty of sloppiness.

The South American, however, was not to be denied, and stabbed home at the far post after Newcastle's defence failed to deal with the excellent Declan Rice's corner.

With David Moyes' men gaining the upper hand, Benrahma dragged an effort wide after cutting inside Fabian Schar, prompting a concerted response from the hosts, with Joelinton and Longstaff making their presence felt in an increasingly physical midfield battle.

Following the restart, the Hammers continued to press, with defender Nayef Aguerd flicking a 50th-minute header high and wide from Benrahma's cross after a sustained spell of pressure.

Newcastle responded with an important block from Saint-volley Maximin's four minutes later, but despite their efforts, genuine chances remained elusive, prompting Howe to bring on Gordon with 21 minutes remaining.

Wilson could have doubled his tally twice as time expired, but Aguerd's superbly timed challenge and Fabianski's safe hands denied him in quick succession, and his side had to settle for a point.