WHUFC vs Newcastle -- March 1st, 2019

so Noble is the first thing I see as I turn on the telly... for some reason he's back in the starting line-up.

Lanzini is out there, so after two appearances... all thoughts of 'bringing him back slowly' goes out the window - is that ever the west Ham way..

Chicharito and Snoddy are out there...

Snoddy lining up an early free kick on the edge of the Too penalty area...

total balls up of a free kick between Anderson and Snoddy...

let's get y'al a full team line-up...

2 1/2 minutes gone and I think we've already had more possession than we did in the City game midweek..


1Fabianski
24Fredericks
23Diop
21Ogbonna
3Cresswell
16Noble
41Rice
11Snodgrass
10Lanzini
8Felipe Anderson
17Hernández

Cresswell broken toe is apparently all mended...

Poor Johnson who did pretty well midweek doesn't even make it to the bench, which is populated thus:

7Arnautovic
13Adrián
14Obiang
18Nasri
26Masuaku
27Pérez
30Antonio

interesting to see Carroll also disappears from starting IX to nowhere...

as usual this is a must-win game for us...

ten games to finish out the season and we really could/should have been pressing 7th or 6th... but we were tenth at start of the day...
and could go as high as 9th if we manage a win...

which is on the cards now as while I was looking at the table, we get a a corner... Rice leaps into the crowd and gets a clean head on the ball to send it down into the bottom of the net...

2 Rice goals this season...

1-0

Fortunately the defense is still on a high from the City game and are defending well but the midfield is still letting Newcastle cut through us too easily...

Cresswell is down... blood on his boat from an accidental collision... the Newcastle player is also down dripping claret...


Nasri did zero in midweek so to see him gone from the team is as unsurprising as Carroll's omission... but we need a stronger midfield, Rice can't be expected to do it all by himself...

nice to see Brooking and Bonzo in attendance... not sure how much of an honor it is to have a stand named after you in rented accommodation... but at ;east the club is treating him better now than they did when he was manager...

players are bandaged up and back n play... Noble getting himself involved in some nice one touch football... but we ultimately concede possession to the Toon...



Diop did well to get to the ball a micro second before the unmarked Newcastle player ....

free kick to Newcastle out on the wing but we get it clear...

Toon player nicely dispossessed by Noble - credit where it's due...


20 minutes gone... Newcastle don't look like they have a lot to offer... but that's why we can't afford to get complacent and give them any opening.

halfway through the first half... not a lot to report, it's all a bit flat out there.

Noble is huffing and puffing away...

rice obviously has the most notable contribution with his goal...

Fabianski has had hardly anything to do...

Anderosn and Antonio are pretty much anonymous - this happens way too often from Anderson to be anything but annoying.

Noble gets the first yellow card for a tackle form behind... as he usually does.

Lanzini has been pretty quiet too, all of which means that Chicharito is getting pretty much zero service in his lone striker position...

so we have abut a quarter of our team under performing...

this is the kind of thing that causes us to lose so often or throw games away...



If Noble, Antonio, Lanzini and Anderson really put a foot on this game and took hold of it, we'd be lying... but too often it's lazy, non-combative and pedestrian (as it's become today) and so we're really only anywhere by virtue of these being some pretty piss-poor teams in the league this year...

Johnson had a calf strain after the City game, hence his absence today... but Cresswell is now down and injured - apparently his bad foot (thanks for rushing him back guys) and so he's coming off after 32 minutes..

He's not limping as he goes off... but off he goes.

Masuaku is coming on to replace him.


Another West Ham free kick gets blocked by the Toon defense...

Snodgrass gets poleaxed in midfield and then to follow up, Chicharito gets tripped in the penalty area and we have a penalty.

Noble will take...


and it's in the top corner of the net.

no doubt really... we've honestly been the better team and for once we have a scoreline to reflect that.

3 mins to half time and we're 2-0 to the good.

from the guardian:

GOAL! West Ham 2-0 Newcastle (Noble, 42 mins)

The referee stops Noble mid run-up to deal with some encroachment; the West Ham captain retreats to its start and then hammers his spot-kick into the top left corner. Unstoppable!

West Ham have a penalty!

The free kick floats to Hernandez, who controls and heads for goal; Lejeune slides in and clips his ankle, and that is a penalty!



5 minutes of added time for blood and injuries...

we're starting to boss the midfield here... and the Toon are hardly getting a look in...

our end product is still not quite there...

Masuaku gets to the edge of the are and put-on a low cross but Hernandez can't quite get his back heel in order...

and of course, as I type this... Newcastle have won a corner...

maybe the last action of this half...

Diop heads clear but the Toon come back and almost get clear on goal... another corner...

Masuaku heads clear and the whistle goes...

Diame is making a second half appearance as we get back underway...

no 2nd half capitulation please Hammers...

Newcastle much more on the front foot as we head into the 2nd half... still can't manage a shot on target yet but they're getting more possession and definitely seem up for it...

we need a response...

finally after 8 minutes we get a little possession... but the Toon are happy to let us have it in the no man's land between the halfway line and the penalty area...

this would/will be our first season double over Newcastle in 20 years...

nothing seems set to stop that happening so far... but we definitely need to get hold of this game...


Noble running in the wrong direction gets dispossessed and gives the ball back to the Toon...

Newcastle get their first shot on target but Fabianski smothers..

Newcastle - up for it - pep in their step...

West Ham - coasting and unable to put anything together

Masuaku run down the wing - the ball gets over the defense but Chicharito's outstretched foot can only put the ball into the side netting - that's 2 misses from Chicharito in as many minutes...

hopefully the tide is slowly turning...

Chicharito coming off for Arnautovic... I'd have taken Anderson off to be honest... he's been a waste of space...

and two forwards might be the trick we need to open up this second half...

70 minutes gone... the game really has gone completely off the boil...

fortunately Newcastle really are poor today and so we're not really under any pressure... but then also not actually doing anything against a team that is just not together...


Masuaku deflects a Toon attack out for a corner...

77 minutes gone...

Newcastle have overtaken us in shots, corners... their possession stats are creeping up...

making their third substitution

we're also doing a swap...

Obiang is going to come on to replace... Noble.


again... anderson does nothing and gets to stay on for the whole game...

nicely snide Guardian comment...

"80 mins: West Ham call it a standing ovation, and it might indeed have been so. I’m not there to see. On TV it sounded like a smattering of polite applause emanating from the few members of the audience yet to slip into a coma."

to be fair... I am watching every second on the telly and I'd have to say the Guardian is pretty accurate in its description...

we're in 9th place...

3 points clear of 10th - but Everton have played a game less.

1 point behind 8th - but Watford have played a game less.

4 points behind 7th place

14 points behind 6th...

so I guess we're really looking at 7th as the height of our ambitions this season...

4 teams below us are within 6 points...

so our season is likely to come down to something between 7th and 14th - and i'll be happy to have no relegation worries... but I also know we could well have been competing for 6th place if we'd not pissed away so many points since Christmas...

Newcastle hit the post from a free kick...

Arnie tees up Lanzini...

it's not as exciting as it sounds...

3 minutes of stoppage time...

this game seems to be going on forever...