West Ham United 2-0 Newcastle United: Declan Rice and Mark Noble goals earn Hammers victory

Mark Noble has now scored 19 of his past 21 penalties in the Premier League

First-half goals from Declan Rice and Mark Noble ensured West Ham eased to a deserved Premier League victory over Newcastle at London Stadium.

Rice headed in from a Robert Snodgrass corner to put the Hammers ahead after seven minutes.

Noble then doubled the hosts' advantage from the penalty spot as the interval approached, following Newcastle defender Florian Lejeune's foul on Javier Hernandez.

The Magpies failed to offer much attacking threat, although Salomon Rondon did go close to grabbing a consolation as his free-kick struck Lukasz Fabianski's post.

Victory for Manuel Pellegrini's side lifts them to ninth in the table, while Newcastle remain six points clear of the relegation places in 14th.

• West Ham v Newcastle as it happened

Rice offers platform for Hammers' success

Despite occupying a comfortable mid-table position in the Premier League, West Ham have struggled for consistency in Pellegrini's first season in charge.

But the Hammers produced a resolute performance in their narrow defeat by Manchester City in midweek and they used the same solid foundations to nullify Newcastle's attacking threat.

Rice, who last month pledged his international future to England, once again played a pivotal role for Pellegrini's side and was a disruptive nuisance to the visitors throughout.

The 20-year-old midfielder's clever movement in the penalty area left him free to pick his spot before powerfully heading beyond Martin Dubravka's reach, and an untroubled West Ham never appeared in danger of relinquishing their lead.

Noble - who has now scored 19 of his last 21 league penalties - epitomised the Hammers' visible confidence in front of their home crowd and remained unfazed despite being forced to restart his run-up.

Rice, who made more tackles than any other player, and captain Noble refused Newcastle the time or space to build any rhythm, while Miguel Almiron and Ayoze Perez were kept on the periphery.

In an emotional tribute prior to kick-off, West Ham honoured club legend Billy Bonds - who made 799 appearances for the Hammers - with London Stadium's East Stand renamed in his honour.

Aside from the result, there was further positive news for manager Pellegrini as Manuel Lanzini completed the full 90 minutes on his first start for the club in 293 days following a long-term knee injury sustained in May last year.

"We are very happy, we played a good game and were a solid team. The way we attacked and tried to play as far from our box as possible, we played at a good level which is so important," said Pellegrini.

"Manuel Lanzini played for 90 minutes for the first time, my idea was for him to play for 65, 70 minutes but he was telling me that he was feeling good."

Newcastle's surge for safety halted

In the build-up to Saturday's meeting with West Ham, manager Rafael Benitez warned his players they still have "a lot of work to do" in their battle to avoid relegation - despite taking four victories from their previous six in the league.

But Newcastle's surge toward safety hit a slight stumbling block as the Magpies missed the opportunity to open a gaping nine-point buffer between themselves and 18th-placed Cardiff.

The Magpies had been hitting their stride at precisely the right time in their bid to secure a third consecutive season in the top flight, but failed to maintain that momentum against determined opposition.

Record signing Almiron, impressive in his appearances for Benitez' side since his January move, was unable to influence the game as Newcastle failed to register a shot on target in the first half.

Rondon looked the most likely to bring his side back into the contest - yet even if his powerful free-kick had fallen the right side of the post it would likely have come too late.

The defensive solidarity of Benitez's side - which had helped them to back-to-back league clean sheets - was also lacking and Rice drifted in to punish the Magpies' slow start and lack of early concentration.

Benitez said this week that his side could begin to enjoy their season once they secure "38 or 40 points" and, though they remain somewhat clear of trouble, his side will need to offer much more in their upcoming fixtures to avoid a nervy finish.

"We didn't start well, didn't do what we have to do at the start. We made our own mistakes, started with a lack of concentration and conceded two set-pieces to a good team," said Benitez.

"We are where are, we are doing a lot of good things but we must keep focus and concentration from first to last minute. We have to be sure we learn from these mistakes and prepare for the next game."

Man of the match - Declan Rice (West Ham)

The midfielder was instrumental once again for West Ham, confidently protecting the back four, while only Manuel Lanzini could match his number of passes

Magpies don't enjoy London - the stats

• West Ham United have completed the league double over Newcastle for the first time since the 1998-99 season.

• The Hammers have lost just one of their last eight home Premier League games, and are unbeaten in their last five at London Stadium.

• Newcastle have lost 75 Premier League away games in London, more than any other side.

• The Magpies have enjoyed just two wins in their last 17 away Premier League games and are without a victory on the road in six.

• West Ham's Declan Rice has scored in two of his last four Premier League home games, after failing to score in his first 19.

• Robert Snodgrass has registered 19 assists in the league since the start of last season, a haul only bettered in English football's top four tiers by Marcus Maddison, Leroy Sane, Graham Carey and Raheem Sterling.

• West Ham's Mark Noble has scored 22 penalties in the Premier League since his debut in August 2005. Only Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Sergio Aguero and Wayne Rooney have scored more in that period.

What's next?

Newcastle host Everton in the Premier League on Saturday (15:00 GMT), while West Ham travel to face Cardiff at the same time.