West Ham leave it late to rescue hard-fought draw against Newcastle
Eddie Howe’s men were riding high after their thumping of Paris Saint-Germain in midweek, but it took just eight minutes for the Hammers to bring them back down to earth here.
A sumptuous Lucas Paquetá pass sent Emerson in behind in the left channel. The wing-back’s exquisite first touch rounded the onrushing Nick Pope, allowing him to square to Tomáš Souček to steer into an empty net.
Newcastle were on the ropes, and were fortunate not to be reduced to 10 men after Bruno Guimarães’ late challenge on James Ward-Prowse went unpunished just moments after the Brazilian had been booked.
After surviving that scare, the visitors grew into the contest, and saw midweek goalscorers Miguel Almirón and Dan Burn go close to an equaliser before the break.
The Magpies improved in the second period, finally calling Alphonse Areola into action to thwart Alexander Isak’s effort.
The Swede made no mistake moments later, however, sliding home the equaliser after Edson Álvarez’s wayward attempt at a headed clearance landed at Isak’s feet at the back post.
Within five minutes of drawing level, Newcastle were ahead as Isak hit the target again.
The Hammers’ defenders seemed to stop as they thought Kieran Trippier was offside, allowing the England international to steer across goal and find Isak for a tap-in.
Moyes’ men needed to respond, but they couldn’t handle the visitors and were fortunate not to fall two behind when Isak rounded Areola, but with the angle against him, the Swede stuck his effort against the post.
The introduction of Kudus from the bench injected new life into the Hammers, and he provided a stunning strike to rescue a point in the 89th minute.
Receiving the ball on the edge of the area, the former Ajax man unleashed a driven left-footed effort that beat Pope for pace and lifted the spirits of the London Stadium faithful with his first PL goal.
A late show from Moyes’ side keeps them above Newcastle and within three points of the top-four, while Newcastle failed to win for the first time in five matches.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Alexander Isak (Newcastle United)
