The West Ham team played with a confidence not always found this season and as they passed the ball on in the final minutes there were cries of “Ole” from the away team, something few of their fans could relate to would have expected their journey in the northeast.
“For Julen Lopetegui, it is invaluable to reward the 3,000 West Ham fans who made the 600 mile round trip to Newcastle, knowing they would not get home until the early hours of the morning said Simon Stone, chief football news reporter at BBC Sport.
“Any club's away fans are the true barometer of support for a manager and after the three-goal thrashing at Nottingham Forest three weeks ago they really weren't happy.”
“West Ham delivered their best performance of the season at St James' Park. This was a deserved win, in contrast to their last success against Manchester United, which even club officials accepted was only possible because the visitors failed to score a ridiculous number of excellent first-half chances.
“The Hammers were strong enough at the back. Carlos Soler was excellent in midfield in just his second Premier League start. Lucas Paqueta was his old self, Jarrod Bowen was a threat and Michail Antonio was a battering ram in attack.”
