West Ham United 1-0 Newcastle United
- Published
West Ham end run without a win
Newcastle lose for first time since 29 Sep
Sissoko gets two yellows in a minute
Hammers into fifth spot
Aaron Cresswell scored his first Premier League goal as West Ham moved up to fifth in the table with victory over 10-man Newcastle.
The former Ipswich defender's 56th-minute strike ended the Magpies' run of five successive league wins and handed the Hammers their first in four.
Newcastle finished with 10 men when captain Moussa Sissoko was shown two yellows in the space of 46 seconds.
Their best chances fell to Ayoze Perez whose two efforts went a foot wide.
Both those shots were in the first half which was a drab spectacle.
The players were guilty of repeatedly losing possession and some awful shooting, with the Magpies marginally the more creative in attack.
Spain Under-21 striker Perez looked the most likely to make a breakthrough in the first period, firing a shot that went a foot wide and a backheel flick that found the side-netting.
As for West Ham, they were relying on their ex-Newcastle man Andy Carroll to trouble the Newcastle backline but, bar a hopeful shout for a penalty, when his shot hit the arm of Mike Williamson, he was well-marshalled.
So it came as a surprise in the 56th minute when a defender popped up to open the scoring.
Full-back Cresswell took the chance to break forward and was positioned perfectly when Cheikhou Kouyate's shot fell into his path. The Liverpool-born full-back steadied himself and poked in past Rob Elliot.
Newcastle manager Alan Pardew brought on Remy Cabella and Papiss Cisse as they searched for an equaliser, but moments after making the changes his attacking options were reduced when his skipper lost his cool.
Sissoko, who has been a leader by example for the Magpies this season, was shown his first yellow when he kicked the ball away and less than a minute later he was shown a second card for his late challenge on Carroll.
Despite going a man down, Newcastle pushed for an equaliser and even sent keeper Elliot up for a late corner. They were almost left to rue that decision when substitute Mauro Zarate broke forward on the counter, but then failed to find the finish with the keeper only just back in his goal.
The miss did not matter as West Ham held and got back on the winning trail.
BBC Match of the Day reaction |
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Danny Murphy: "Newcastle played OK. They've got some good players. The biggest disappointment for them was losing Sissoko, it was silly and he's been their best player for the last few weeks. |
Paul Ince: From a defensive point of view I thought West Ham were absolutely immense. As much as the back four were outstanding you had Andy Carroll back defending too. |
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce: "We have to say it was a fantastic finish from Aaron Cresswell. It was fortuitous he got in that position. He's a full-back and carried on his run into the box. It was always going to be a 1-0.
"We get back on the winning trail going into December. Newcastle are an in-form side. It's massive win for us."
Newcastle manager Alan Pardew: "I'm disappointed the six-game winning run has come to an end - at some point it had to.
"It was a tight game - they had a major break on the goal. It probably decided the game. We tried to push the best we could.
"He [Moussa Sissoko] needs to learn - it was a minute of madness. He's usually such a controlled player. I thought we were pretty good right up until the goal.
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