Newcastle 1-1 West Ham
by Harry De Cosemo
at St James’ Park

NEWCASTLE UNITED were held to a 1-1 draw by West Ham United at St James’ Park on Saturday.

The story of the match centred around two Brazilians, one on the pitch and one in the stands. 

The suspended Bruno Guimaraes left a huge void for Newcastle, who lacked a creative spark without him, while West Ham’s Lucas Paqueta struck a decisive blow with the equaliser following Callum Wilson’s opener.

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe admitted the “irreplaceable” Guimaraes’ absence had an impact on his side’s performance: “I think we missed Bruno today, but we were always going to miss Bruno because he’s so unique and slightly different.

“But I do think our midfield players who played in his absence all played well. I don’t think it’s a criticism of them – I just think he’s irreplaceable. You’re going to miss him, and I think we missed his creative eye more than anything else.”

It would be hard write a crazier start to a football match, as Newcastle took the lead twice in the first two minutes.

First, Joe Willock’s emphatic close-range finish was disallowed by VAR after the ball edged out of play on the byline.

Incensed, the home side roared their team on and the decibel levels rose as the-shell shocked Hammers cowered.

And then, before anybody could set themselves, Wilson raced through to score his first goal since October.

West Ham soon settled and began to dominate as the first half wore on. They levelled just after the half-hour mark.

Paqueta, a reported Newcastle target before joining West Ham last summer, finished from close range from a corner he’d won by seeing a shot deflected.

It was the first goal Nick Pope had conceded in just under 10 hours of league football.

England midfielder Declan Rice was enjoying himself, dominating the midfield and managing to negate the Newcastle press which has been so effective during their 16 unbeaten league run.

Allan Saint-Maximin was the only change for the game, replacing Guimaraes after a spell out of the side. 

His trademark explosive flamboyance was missing, but he proved that he has developed into a more disciplined operator under Eddie Howe.

Anthony Gordon replaced him in the second half and made an instant impact on his debut. He drifted inside and found Wilson, who was denied by an excellently timed tackle by Nayef Aguerd.

Wilson went close again with a header from a Kieran Trippier free kick, which was held by Lukasz Fabianski, but Newcastle didn’t do enough to win the game without their Brazilian talisman. He’ll be a miss for the next two games.

Moyes heaped praise on Rice after the game, before going on to suggest he’d break records if he were to be sold by the Hammers.

“Declan was a top player in the first half.

“He showed so many things.

“Undoubtedly he’s going to be a top player and undoubtedly he’ll be a British transfer record and more whenever he leaves West Ham.

“A lot’s been said about [his departure] and when you see what’s been happening with prices, I think Declan will be blowing that out [of] the water when it comes around.”