LONDON: Eddie Howe proved master tactician for Newcastle United this week as his double personnel change drew instant Premier League results.
Despite rarely changing a winning side, Howe shuffled his pack at the London Stadium, recalling Callum Wilson and Joelinton to the side, with in-form Joe Willock and Alexander Isak. It proved an inspired call as the Magpies ran riot with both Wilson and Joelinton netting twice apiece in a blistering display in the capital’s East End.
Kurt Zouma scored for the struggling Hammers, who remain deep in relegation trouble, while substitute Alexander Isak also got in on the act off the bench.
Howe admits he knew he’d live or die by his tough selection calls.
The head coach said: “I think I’ve got a strong squad, and with three games in six days, I want the players to enter the pitch in the best physical condition possible.
“In my opinion, I’d be foolish not to rotate and trust the team. I trust the squad and the players coming in. I’ve got no doubt on the quality, and we’ve got a lot of games in a short period of time.
“It’s always going to be judged by the result whether that (the rotation) is successful or not, and of course I want to keep people fit and give them the best chance to play as many games as possible.
“Callum was very good, that goes without saying, and the two goals were very important goals for us. His all-round performance was very strong, but that’s not a surprise to me. I can’t rate Callum any higher than I do, and with him and Alex, we’ve got two outstanding center-forwards.”
While the scoreline might not fully reflect it, it was the hosts who got off to a flyer, with the Magpies looking a little weary after a bruising 2-0 win over fellow Champions League-chasers Manchester United just 72 hours or so earlier.
And the Hammers almost netted an opener within the first minute when a blistering run by Jarrod Bowen showed Dan Burn a clean set of heels; his cross was diverted on to Nick Pope’s post by Bruno Guimaraes in a real heart-in-mouth moment for the Magpies early on.
However, Howe’s side’s patchy opening did not last long. It took just six minutes for them to open the scoring. A jinking run by Allan Saint-Maximin saw the Frenchman whip a cross goalwards and Wilson glanced home his ninth of the season.
Just seven minutes later it was 2-0, with Joelinton bagging his first of an impressive brace. Latching on to a long ball by Fabian Schar, the midfielder rounded Lukas Fabianski and slotted home. It was ruled out initially for offside, but the VAR gods again shone on the Magpies and on second viewing it was given.
Pope, not quite at his usual best, made one excellent stop to deny Lucas Paqueta before making an error that led to a West Ham lifeline.
Bowen, a thorn in the side for much of the opening 45, curled a corner right into Pope’s six-yard box and when Sven Botman let Zouma go, he rose highest to reduce the arrears.
Things looked a little shaky for Newcastle in the run-up to the break, however the hosts pressed self-destruct just 21 seconds into the second period, when Jacob Murphy won the ball off Nayef Aguerd and slipped in Wilson for his second, which meant he hit double figures for the third season in a row at United.
The Magpies threatened a fourth soon after when Murphy brought the best out of Fabianski, before Isak brought out the Polish international’s worst.
Fabianski mis-controlled a long ball that Isak latched on to and looped a perfect finish over the defenders chasing back. Hands on hips as the ball bounced in, the picture of the Swede will be one of the most iconic in what is turning out to be a memorable campaign.
Joelinton added a fifth late on as Bruno Guimaraes played him in down the left.
Howe added: “That was probably, since the World Cup (Newcastle’s best performance). I don’t think we’ve been as clinical as we maybe were in the first part of the season.
“I think we’ve created a load of chances, but haven’t taken them. Tonight was roles reversed really, I didn’t think we were perfect in our performance and there’s a lot to reflect on that we could have done better. West Ham made it a good game, but when our chances did come today, we took them, and that was probably the difference.
“Every positive result strengthens our position, but we’ve got huge games to come and a lot of points to play for. Nothing is going to be decided short term, but these are important wins.”
Next up for the Magpies is an away day at Brentford on Saturday — and they’ll hope to emulate what they achieved last night in the capital, where they scored five goals away from St. James’ Park for the first time since 1998 in the league.
