[West Ham Utd 0-1 Newcastle Utd](news_archive.php)
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A drab Monday night affair saw West Ham undone by a controversial second half Newcastle goal, on a night when many supporters made the decision to give the game a miss.
While the club announced the attendance for tonight's game as 62,463 on their website following the final whistle in Stratford, the number of vacant white seats suggested otherwise. However many who were either unable or unwilling to attend the 8pm kick-off, which included an appearance from the warmly-received Michail Antonio may feel their decision was vindicated as Graham Potter's side proved largely ineffective outside of two purple patches at the beginning of each half. The visiting supporters, who faced a 600-mile round trip on a weekday evening, thanks to the Premier League's appointed TV broadcasters' inconsiderate programming schedule - were also wondering if they were ever going to see some notable goalmouth action at the other end until the game's key moment midway through the second half, with the game delicately poised at 0-0. A cross from former West Ham target Ashley Barnes - who had forced a smart stop from Alphonse Areola in the first half - looked set to be met by the head of Max Kilman, until a push in the back by Alexander Iask impeded his jump. The ball subsequently dropped at the feet of Bruno Guimaraes, and the Brazilian midfielder made no mistake from three yards out. West Ham protests naturally followed, most notably from Kilman and his central defensive partner Aaron Cresswell, who had the best view of the incident - yet referee Michael Salisbury deferred to VAR having seen no obvious foul. One glance at Kilman's face - as he was averted from his intended line of trajectory - should've been enough to raise a question in Salisbury's mind. Yet it was a decision supported by the VAR team of Alex Chilowicz plus assistants Simon Bennett and Dan Robathan - thus the goal was allowed to stand. The official was given an opportunity to balance the scales some minutes later when West Ham skipper Jarrod Bowen went tumbling inside the penalty box, but the Hammers were left frustrated again when he waved play on (similarly, the VAR team saw no reason to intervene). It was a frustrating night in many senses for West Ham, who really should've been ahead inside the opening minute when Tomas Soucek was presented with an unexpected chance that he was unable to keep below the crossbar, from no more than six yards out. However Potter's team - who came into this game on the back of consecutive Premier League wins and clean sheets - were fortunate not to have fallen behind shortly before they eventually did, when Murphy's low cross was inadvertently turned goalwards by an unfortunate Kilman. Goalkeeper Alphonse Areola may not have enjoyed the best of nights with the ball at his feet, but on this occasion he produced a quite magnificent save to prevent the ball from looping over his head and into the net, twisting to divert the net-bound ball. Ultimately however Al's acrobatics were to prove inconsequential, as even a flurry of substitutions - which saw West Ham end the game with all of Bowen, Mo Kudus, Evan Ferguson and Danny Ings on the pitch - failed to cause an offensively quiet yet defensively resolute Newcastle any trouble.
West Ham Utd: Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Todibo (Mavropanos 65), Kilman, Cresswell (Ferguson 69), Scarles, Alvarez (Soler 65), Soucek (Paqueta 65), Ward-Prowse (Ings 84), Bowen, Kudus
Subs not used: Fabianski, Emerson, Rodriguez, Guilherme
Newcastle Utd: Pope, Trippier, Schär, Burn, Livramento, Guimarães (Longstaff 88), Tonali, Joelinton, Murphy, Barnes (Willock 79), Isak (Wilson 79)
Subs not used: Dúbravka, Krafth, Targett, Miley, Osula, Neave
Goals: Guimarães (64)
Booked: Burn
Possession: WHUFC 51%-49% NUFC
Shots/on target: WHUFC 9/2-9/3 NUFC
xG: WHUFC 0.45-1.38 NUFC
Referee: Michael Salisbury
Tickets sold: 62,463
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