Nuno secures maiden victory leading West Ham

Nuno Espirito Santo marked his debut success as West Ham United's head coach on Sunday, with his determined squad mounting a comeback to defeat Newcastle United 3-1 at the London Stadium.

The Irons stay rooted in the bottom three despite this being only their second league triumph this campaign, yet they trail 17th-placed Burnley by a mere three points ahead of their upcoming clash.

Eddie Howe's Magpies opened the scoring through an impressive early effort by Jacob Murphy, though Lucas Paqueta restored parity, and an unfortunate mishap from Sven Botman handed the hosts the lead by the interval.

The away side boss introduced sweeping alterations during the recess to inject life into his lacklustre outfit, and Newcastle controlled the ball in the opening phases of the second half, restricting West Ham's movements.

However, the Geordies lacked cutting edge up front, allowing Tomas Soucek to clinch the full spoils with a late decisive blow.

Nuno took over at West Ham towards the end of September, shortly after his dismissal from Nottingham Forest, a club also battling relegation.

Nevertheless, the Portuguese tactician showed restraint while anticipating his initial points haul.

Murphy edged Newcastle in front during the fourth minute, unleashing a fierce drive from distance only 26 seconds following Jarrod Bowen's attempt that struck the upright at the opposite goal.

Officiating Robert Jones initially signalled a spot-kick for West Ham six minutes in, deeming Malick Thiaw had felled Bowen, but video assistant referee intervention reversed it upon confirming Thiaw's ball contact.

The home side earned their equaliser justly in the 35th minute as Paqueta rifled a precise effort from beyond the penalty area beyond diving Nick Pope.

And right before the break, they surged ahead when Aaron Wan-Bissaka's driven delivery from defence was deflected into his own goal by Botman, whose botched clearance exposed Pope.

Howe substituted in Fabian Schar, William Osula, and Jacob Ramsey replacing Emil Krafth, Nick Woltemade, and Anthony Gordon during the interval.

The north-easterners held sway with the ball but found Pope tested shortly after at the far end, with West Ham eyeing a third.

West Ham's Freddie Potts netted midway through the second period yet the strike was disallowed for offside.

Newcastle persisted in their search but failed to level, leaving Soucek to deliver the final verdict.

This marks West Ham's initial home league victory since February, while the loss drops Newcastle to 13th in the standings.