Dimitri Payet Master-class Defeats Shoddy Toon

Dimitri Payet’s brace sends Newcastle to the foot of the table while Slaven Bilic’s men produce a very positive display at Upton Park.

West Ham made a superb start and found themselves in the lead in less than ten minutes, capitalising on poor play from the Newcastle defenders. Mark Noble’s drag back found summer signing Dimitri Payet and the Frenchman finished to show why he is so highly rated by the Hammers. Newcastle were having all of the possession in the opening exchanges however West Ham were comfortable and had the better opportunities. Daryl Janmaat did have an excellent chance to equalise after nice build up play by the Dutchman but his shot was weak and was easily dealt with by Darren Randolph in nets.

There wasn’t many chances on offer in the first half and the home side were happy to absorb the pressure for . For West Ham, they looked dangerous countering on Newcastle’s sloppiness on the ball and almost extended their lead, when Payet’s through ball found Victor Moses but he couldn’t hit the target. The Toon lacked any real creativity in the final third and struggled to fashion any chances. In the second half they need to play the ball into Georginio Wijnaldum and have him turn and run at the Hammers’ defence. With the forwards making runs, it will pose difficult questions for Slaven Bilic’s men.

West Ham doubled their lead shortly after the interval with a swift counter led by Victor Moses off a Newcastle free kick. Moses managed to beat Haidara before releasing a rocket that thundered off the underside of the bar, but yet again West Ham’s golden boy was there to supply the finish. The defending may have been less than impressive and this leaves Newcastle with a mountain to climb. Similar to the first half, Newcastle had all of the possession but little or no penetration. The home side looked the more likely to extend their lead.

The introduction of Pedro Obiang was a more defensive option and signalled Bilic’s content at just seeing the match out. Hammers’ fans will be aware of the events at White Hart Lane last year when Harry Kane’s last gasp penalty snatched the three points away from West Ham. If Newcastle were to manage a goal then the momentum would completely swing. That goal never came. West Ham ran out deserved winners.

West Ham have reason to be optimistic this season. They have a man who could unlock a safe not knowing the combination, as well as useful operators in the middle of the park and some inspiring individuals at back. Even though they will face sterner tasks in the near future, teams will find West Ham very hard to break down and will trouble many other sides. I really look forward to watching West Ham play this season and they will be challenging for the spots in Europe.

As for Newcastle, this was a completely different performance to when they took on Arsenal at St James’ before the international break. A real worry for Steve McClaren is the failure to create and finish many chances and their hunt for a goal since the opening match continues. Daryl Janmaat had three out of the four shots, showing the dire need of another striker on Tyneside. Even having the majority possession, they were sloppy and often gifted the ball to the opposition allowing them to counter. Improvement needs to drastic and speedy if they are not going to fall into a slump and fight another relegation battle.