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Post by Football News on Sept 14, 2015 21:48:02 GMT
Dimitri Payet scores twice as West Ham ease to win over NewcastleWest Ham 2 - 0 NewcastleDimitri Payet 9 Dimitri Payet 48 In the end the only real consolation for Steve McClaren from this trip to the East End was that the heavens did not open, as they had so infamously the last time he had confronted a side coached by Slaven Bilic, to leave him wondering whether or not to reach for a brolly. Newcastle United’s dismal run of form away from St James’ Park has not been allayed by his summer appointment and their misery was prolonged here by a West Ham team brimming with pace and intent. Early days it may be but Newcastle prop up the division. They were undone here by Dmitri Payet’s blistering form, the France international’s glorious skill and direct running delighting Bilic to ensure the hosts ended an evening when they had celebrated their best-ever team, of 1985-86, who finished in third place. They even had the return of Andy Carroll to cheer before the end, the England striker making his first appearance since February as a late substitute. While the visiting manager flapped in frustration, the locals rejoiced in the relative simplicity of their night’s work. McClaren had made straight for the visitors’ technical area, foregoing his customary first-half seat up in the gods to survey the scene instead at pitch level. Much of what he witnessed early on must have made for ugly viewing. His side’s evening had started poorly, the team coach having ground to a halt in the gridlock on the Barking Road and had remained stuck even once the police escort arrived. With under an hour to kick-off and no prospect of the start being put back, Newcastle’s players disembarked amid the roadworks to walk the last mile to the stadium. Everything about them was flustered on arrival, their warm-ups and pre-match routine undoubtedly disrupted. In that context there was an inevitability they would concede early. The hosts’ reward was slickly constructed, Mark Noble stealing back possession from Georginio Wijnaldum and exchanging passes with Diafra Sakho, whose smart backheeled return for his captain seemed to wrongfoot Newcastle’s players. Their rearguard had been pulled horribly out of shape, Jack Colback and Vernon Anita tearing back in an attempt to recover the situation with Wijnaldum still dawdling. The Holland midfielder might still have intervened when Noble slid a pass back to the edge of the penalty area but he was caught on his heels and Payet was sharper. The first-time finish from just outside the box was delicious, curled accurately and emphatically into the top corner, with Tim Krul helpless. Payet might have added another after the home debutant, Victor Moses, had darted beyond Daryl Janmaat to the byline and crossed, but the Frenchman’s attempt from Manuel Lanzini’s lay-off was dragged awkwardly wide. There was a vibrancy to West Ham’s counterattacking, the pace of their front four too much for Newcastle too often. It took Chancel Mbemba’s lunge to put Moses off his stride and force the winger to batter a shot wide after another galloping break, while Payet was a constant menace, drifting into the space behind Sakho with intent. Janmaat laboured, albeit he did at least spring forward when he could to offer the visitors some attacking threat. Indeed, when the ball broke to him back off Wijnaldum midway through the first half it took a smart save from Darren Randolph to preserve the home side’s advantage. McClaren desperately needed more urgency and invention from his own forward thinkers, with Florian Thauvin peripheral and ineffective and Papiss Cissé too isolated to make any proper impact. The manager would have spied some promise when Janmaat crumpled under Winston Reid’s challenge to win a free-kick out on the right early in the second half, the award a chance for his players to attack a set-piece and test a West Ham defence rejigged after Angelo Ogbonna’s withdrawal through injury, though it was the visitors who actually proved vulnerable. The delivery was headed clear towards the halfway line where Moses nodded down and outpaced Anita, then held off Massadio Haidara as he tore into enemy territory. The left-back was dumped on the turf as the Chelsea loanee cut back inside, glanced up and lifted his shot beyond Krul only for the ball to cannon back from the crossbar. While the Nigerian was cursing his luck, Payet composed himself just inside the box to lash in the loose ball on the volley. Where the situation demanded an immediate response, the best Newcastle could muster was Janmaat’s low shot which Randolph diverted behind, and a Siem de Jong shot which deflected off Pedro Obiang and had to be tipped over the bar. This was all too depressingly ordinary, with no bite or accuracy in the delivery from free-kicks and no real drive or energy through the lineup. This team has been lavishly reinforced over the summer, the money spent on Wijnaldum, Mbemba, Thauvin and Aleksandar Mitrovic – suspended here – will ensure displays as inadequate as this are not tolerated. They should improve in time, but this was still as alarming as it was feeble. Guardian
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