West Ham put in one of their best performances of the season as they ended Newcastle United’s three game winning run with a fine win at St.James Park. None of the pre match pundits had backed the Hammers to come away with all three points from Tyneside, but a brace from Javier Hernandez and a stoppage time third from Felipe Anderson saw the Irons emerge 3-0 winners.

Newcastle, it must be remembered, had done the double in the league over West Ham last season and the visitors prior to this clash had won only once at St.James Park in the last two decades.

Manuel Pellegrini made four changes for this clash, bringing in Aaron Cresswell, Mark Noble, Robert Snodgrass and Javier Hernandez for Arthur Masuaku, Pedro Obiang, Grady Diangana and Michail Antonio.

Newcastle certainly had their chances, especially in the first half, but West Ham’s centre backs- Issa Diop and Fabian Balbuena were nothing short of outstanding, thwarting many a potential Magpies attack. It was also the Hammers’ first clean sheet in the Premier League since the 0-0 draw at home against Chelsea, and the win would’ve pleased Pellegrini, who finally saw both offence and defence click together at St.James Park. [Read more…]

West Ham defied the odds by registering a 3-0 win over Newcastle at St.James Park in GW14, and several Hammers players have been rewarded for their fine performances in various pundits’ Premier League Teams of the Week.

Newcastle definitely had their chances, but the Hammers defence was top notch, and each of the four Teams of the Week we’ve covered here has at least one WHUFC defender in it.

Felipe Anderson and Javier Hernandez, by virtue of their goals scored, were the obvious favourites in many pundits’ XI. Chicharito made the most of a rare start with two well taken goals, while Brazilian Anderson added the icing on the cake when he scored the visitors’ third in second half stoppage time.

Garth Crooks: The BBC Premier League Team of the Week for Round 14 had three West Ham players- Pablo Zabaleta in defence, Felipe Anderson in midfield and Javier Hernandez upfront. [Read more…]

West Ham will be looking to halt Newcastle United’s three game winning run when they meet the Magpies at St.James Park on Saturday afternoon. Robert Snodgrass is available for selection after missing last weekend’s loss against Man City through suspension. While NUFC are certainly in form, the ref for this game is one under whom they’ve never won a Premier League game. The Magpies though did do a league double over the Hammers last season and manager Rafa Benitez has a good record against the Irons. [Read more…]