West Ham on verge of Premier League drop as Newcastle deliver heavy loss

In an otherwise cagey start VAR examined a possible handball in the box by Tomáš Souček which could have been doubly controversial following the technology going against West Ham recently versus Arsenal.

Despite avoiding that appeal Nuno Espírito Santo’s side fell behind before the quarter hour as Nick Woltemade turned in a Harvey Barnes cross for his first goal since before Christmas.

Five minutes after that matters worsened for the visitors. The second goal came from Magpies quality who cut through the opposition and William Osula applied the finish.

Espírito Santo soon decided on changes swapping his back three and introducing Taty Castellanos alongside Callum Wilson and the Argentine was first to test Nick Pope.

Despite showing more promise the Irons were still two down at half time and offered little threat after the restart. Tempers flared and Souček again escaped VAR review after appearing to lash out at a rival.

The relief was brief though as another loose possession allowed Osula to claim his second of the match.

This forced West Ham to seek inspiration and Castellanos delivered by collecting a long pass from goalkeeper Mads Hermansen then volleying it beyond Pope from distance to spark brief hope.

Often the side’s star Jarrod Bowen had an opening to reduce the deficit yet saw his shot saved and Castellanos then struck the frame of the goal. Newcastle are the most open side in the last 15 minutes of matches but stood firm to hand the visitors a severe setback.

Tottenham Hotspur can now relegate the Hammers with victory at Chelsea on Tuesday while a draw would suffice in effect thanks to a much better goal difference.

If survival fails they will hold the top points tally for a relegated team in ten years ever since Newcastle went down on 37 points in 2015 16.

Eddie Howe’s squad meanwhile stretch their unbeaten sequence to three games but still need a major shift in results to reach the European spots on the last weekend.