ST JAMES’ PARK — West Ham’s promised land of milk and bubbles remains in sight but still out of reach. The Hammers are not home yet.
It had seemed they were about to take a giant stride towards safety when Tomas Soucek rattled in a second goal for the Londoners at St James’ Park midway through the second half; but less than two minutes later, Jonjo Shelvey was slipped through to give Newcastle a second goal and a second equaliser.
As Shelvey struck, David Moyes twisted away in anger. He chucked something down the side of the dugout, then sat down chuntering away about what had just happened.
Moyes was incandescent and while he had calmed down somewhat afterwards, there was no disguising his frustration.
NEWCASTLE DRAW LEVEL AGAIN!
Jonjo Shelvey gets on the scoresheet and once again West Ham's lead is cancelled out after a quick response from the Geordies.
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“I was sickened,” he said, “because of us working so hard to get a goal back [ahead] and then giving it away so quickly. To give that second goal away was a real difficult one.”
He sounded as annoyed as he had looked.
In the first half, West Ham had at least protected the lead Michail Antonio’s fourth-minute opener had given them for 13 minutes. But now, 90 seconds after Soucek had made it 2-1 Newcastle scored in their first real attack after it. There were some half-hearted claims of offside against Dwight Gayle as he assisted scorer Shelvey, but replays showed Pablo Fornals was playing everyone on.
As Moyes noted, had the visitors been able to hold out for even a little bit longer, it’s possible Newcastle could have become agitated and West Ham would have recorded a first away win in the Premier League in 2020.
But Shelvey’s equaliser added to Miguel Almiron’s in the first half and rather than moving six points ahead of third-bottom Aston Villa, the gap is four.
West Ham have a far better goal difference though, so really it’s five and with their next away game being at Norwich on Saturday, the Hammers have a chance to get that vital victory on the road which would hold such meaning for them playing Premier League football at home next season.
2019 seems so long ago. It was mid-December when the Hammers last won away. It was at Southampton, where Ralph Hasenhuttl was under pressure. Manuel Pellegrini was still in charge of West Ham, who moved up to 15th courtesy of Sebastien Haller’s goal.
But then they lost at Crystal Palace and at home to Leicester and Pellegrini was on his way. In came Moyes and it has not exactly been an upward surge.
Admittedly, he was not dealt a good hand by the fixture list – the six Premier League trips under the Scot have been to Sheffield United, Leicester, Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham.
Each defeat has piled increased pressure onto home games, but there has not been too much consolation there either.
Then, on Wednesday, Andriy Yarmolenko, scored that 89th minute winner against Chelsea and some of the weight clinging to West Ham lifted.
They were not exhilarating at St James’ Park, but they were solid in midfield, where Declan Rice had another promising game, while up front Antonio worked and worked. Jarrod Bowen, too, was prominent.
It was Bowen’s early cross that teed up Antonio for the opener at the Gallowgate End, though Jamaal Lascelles will not be happy with the part he played in it all, failing to clear. On the half hour Bowen’s stabbed effort from an Aaron Cresswell shot had to be saved by Martin Dubravka.
It was Rice’s header which rebounded for Soucek and West Ham seemed to have their moment. It was not to be, however they did avoid some dreaded Hammer time when Andy Carroll emerged from the Newcastle bench.
“This league could go easily go right to the last game of the season,” Moyes said. “We understand that and we are prepared for that.”
It’s West Ham vs Aston Villa on that last day.
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