Newcastle United forward William Osula scored twice as his side beat West Ham United 3-1 at St James’ Park on Sunday to leave the Londoners perilously close to relegation from the Premier League after another shambolic display.
With Wolverhampton Wanderers and Burnley already relegated, West Ham are in 18th place on 36 points, two behind Tottenham Hotspur, and Spurs could condemn them to the drop if they beat Chelsea in their penultimate league game of the season at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
Once again, West Ham were punished by their lack of precision, with inaccurate passing and wayward finishing costing them a shot at a win they desperately needed if they are to have a chance of surviving.
The tone was set in the 15th minute when the visitors gave
the ball away cheaply, and Harvey Barnes crossed for Nick
Woltemade to score with a deft side-footed finish, his first
league goal since December.
Four minutes later they went 2-0 down as Newcastle carved
them open, Osula slotting the ball through the keeper’s legs for
a simple finish that left West Ham’s defenders shaking their
heads.
The Hammers had two great chances to reduce the deficit on
the half-hour mark, but Nick Pope pulled off two fine reaction
saves to deny Taty Castellanos and Malick Diouf in quick
succession.
Osula’s second goal in the 65th minute looked to have killed
the game off, but Castellanos threw his side a lifeline with a
stunning finish four minutes later.
Castellanos then struck the woodwork in the 78th minute and
went close with a glancing header that almost caught Pope off
guard six minutes later, but that was as close as they came.
West Ham now face an anxious wait to see if Chelsea can do
them a favour against Spurs and give them something to play for
at home to Leeds United on the final day of the season next
Sunday.
“The first 20 minutes was so painful for us – we have been
training all week to do one thing, and we arrive here and didn’t
do it,” West Ham midfielder Mateus Fernandes said, adding that
he and his teammates were to blame for the poor performance.
“This week, we just need to believe and do our things. It is
our responsibility and we need to do much better … since the
first day it is the players who decide the games, everyone needs
to take responsibility for this moment and be a man.”
Source: Khaleej Times