26th April, 2008

KB: KUMB; HM Hammers Mad; ST Sunday Times; SE Sunday Express; SM Sunday Mirror; OB Observer;
DM Daily Mirror; GU Guardian; TM Times; HD Hammers Diary; SK Sky; DE Daily Express

Sky Sports: With full-back McCartney marauding down the left, West Ham attacked relentlessly from the off and an inexperienced Newcastle back line that featured Steven Taylor and David Edgar was nowhere in the 10th minute when midfielder Noble arrived to send a left-footed effort past goalkeeper Steve Harper from McCartney's cross. There was a setback for the Hammers when Freddie Ljungberg was hurt in the Newcastle box and had to be carried off on a stretcher but the loss of the Sweden international in the 22nd-minute did not diminish his side's momentum as Ashton made it 2-0 less than a minute later with a shot on the turn after Bobby Zamora had headed on a long ball. Newcastle had offered zero in return with their three-man strike force of Michael Owen, Mark Viduka and Martins failing to make any headway against a home defence that also included a rookie in the shape of James Tomkins.

Iain Dale's Diary : Faubert and Ljungberg ran Newcastle ragged down the wings for the first twenty minutes. What a shame Freddie was stretchered off with a cracked rib (and may miss the Euros) mid way through the first half to be replaced the Boa Morte. Scott Parker was absolutely immense, especially in the first half, while Mark Noble took his goal brilliantly and combined superbly with Parker both defensively and in attack. But special pride of place goes to Julien Faubert, who showed some amazing bursts of pace and put in some excellent crosses. He really showed that he will be immense for us next season, and if Parker hadn’t been so brilliant, he would have been my man of the match. Parker is now on England form. Defensively, James Tomkins looked superb, apart from being to blame for the first goal. His heading was spot on and he was tough in his tackled. He’s also a danger at corners in the opponents’ box. He did make a mistake for the goal, but he’ll learn from it. Lucas Neill had a few hairy moments in the second half. George McCartney was brilliant (again) bombing down the left and put in a real attacking performance. And John Pantsil had his best game for us so far. He really can be a joy to watch with his hugely enthusiastic attitude. Up front Dean Ashton was busy all over the place and a constant threat. His goal was a classic striker’s goal, where he made something out of very little. Bobby Zamora was at his most frustrating. He tried and tried but absolutely nothing he tried came off. Carlton Cole looked far better when he came on and should retain his place for the Man U game, although I suspect we will play 4-5-1 at Old Trafford.

Hammers Mad: As early as the third minute, Julien Faubert launched a curling free-kick onto the roof of the Magpies net and, shortly afterwards, Ashton's 18-yarder forced Steve Harper into a low stop, before Bobby Zamora almost diverted home a far post header. It was not a matter of if but when West Ham would break the deadlock and, on ten minutes, Noble met ever-present George McCartney's excellent cross with a falling, 12-yard drop volley to claim his third goal of the season. Although a collision with Steven Taylor saw Freddie Ljungberg stretchered away with a suspected broken rib that could threaten his Euro 2008 involvement, West Ham still kept the momentum going. Midway through the half, Robert Green's huge kick forward was met by Zamora, who headed down to Ashton and, after outwitting Edgar 12 yards out, the Hammers' leading marksman claimed his ninth goal of the season with a low, angled shot into the bottom left-hand corner of the flat-footed Harper's net.

KUMB: The first real opportunity of note came when the Hammers won a free kick on the corner of the box, on the right hand side as I saw it from my seat in the Centenary Upper. Julien Faubert took it and it grazed the top of the angle between bar and post before flying into the away end. It wasn't long before the second chance came and Mark Noble was more than happy to take full advantage of it. George McCartney's pull-back from the left channel finding him, and the England Under-21 star slammed it into Harper's bottom corner for his third goal of the campaign. West Ham started to pass it about and even when the Geordies did win back the ball and mount an attack the defensive precision of the back four of Pantsil, Neill, Tomkins and McCartney was such that all searching through balls were snuffed out with ease. Soon, however, the second goal did come and when it did, it was another good goal. Ashton received the ball just inside the six-yard box, held a defender off and shot home between the legs of Taylor. This scoreline was more than most of us could have realistically hoped for, particularly after half an hour, but sadly it wasn't to last. A long ball from midfield arrived, and James Tomkins, who had been near-impeccable thus far lost out to Obafemi Martins (in the same manner that he had lost out to Yakubu at Goodison Park a few weeks ago) and the Nigerian international finished with ease to halve the deficit. A few minutes later Martins was involved again as his shot deflected first off Geremi, then George McCartney to equalise for the north-east team. (Alex Shilling, 28th April 2008)

Daily Mirror: West Ham were terrific in the opening 40 minutes as Mark Noble and Dean Ashton put them ahead. But it was a tribute to Keegan and Newcastle that they did not lose their heads and Obafemi Martins scored in the 42nd minute before his shot was deflected in by Geremi. Both sides had chances to win after the break. West Ham's Freddie Ljungberg went off in the first half with a cracked rib, Newcastle defender David Edgar went off late on with a bloody head, while Martins might have had a penalty and Michael Owen got away with a handball. (John Cross, 28th April 2008)

The Times: West Ham picked Newcastle apart in the opening 25 minutes. Mark Noble swept in George McCartney’s cross for the first goal and Dean Ashton used his strength and balance for the second. Keegan was so concerned by the attacks down Newcastle’s right flank that he moved Michael Owen to midfield. “He’d do anything for the team,” Keegan said. “And he did it; they lost some of their momentum.” Newcastle’s reward was two goals, with Obafemi Martins taking advantage of a defensive lapse for the first, before his effort pinged in off Gérémi’s head for the equaliser. West Ham United are in mid-table and Ferguson’s team face them at Old Trafford on Saturday. Robert Green, the West Ham goalkeeper, has promised to give the reigning champions a good game. “I have no preference as to who wins the league,” Green said. “But the last thing you want to do is turn up and be accused of rolling over. It will be a hell of an atmosphere.” (Alyson Rudd, 28th April 2008)

The Guardian: Here both teams proved they have the attacking potential to land decisive blows in the title fight but also that their defences constitute jaws of the thinnest glass. West Ham put their better foot forward first, dominating the opening period. Julien Faubert and Freddie Ljungberg hurtled down the wings at will and the drive and nimbleness of Scott Parker and Mark Noble provided a perfect contrast with Newcastle's static midfield... When Noble swept a George McCartney cross into the net from 15 yards in the 10th minute, he was unhindered by any visiting defenders. With Dean Ashton darting all across the frontline and Bobby Zamora achieving aerial supremacy, it was not until the 19th minute that a Newcastle defender managed to get close to an attacker, Steven Taylor accidentally treading on Ljungberg and inflicting a broken rib injury that jeopardises the Swede's participation in Euro 2008. The pattern of the game did not change, however, and two minutes later Ashton gave the home side a deserved second, controlling Zamora's flick-on before fending off David Edgar too easily and swivelling to fire the ball into the net. West Ham exuded confidence and the crispness of their interplay would have given Manchester United fans real cause to fear an upset at Old Trafford on Saturday. (Paul Doyle, 28th April 2008)

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