West Ham earned their first home win of the season, with Dimitri Payet single-handedly shredding Newcastle at Upton Park. Newcastle remain winless, and toothless.
A concrete mixer dropped its load on a highway adjacent to Upton Park, meaning Newcastle’s players had to walk a few hundred yards to make it to the stadium in time for the kick off. New definitions to the phrase “put it in the mixer” aside, Newcastle were yet to score since the opening day. Delays to the kick off can be tolerated; Steve McClaren did not want his side to delay scoring for much longer. Alas, yet again a goal escaped the Magpies, who were torn through by a tenacious West Ham side. Dimitri Payet scored twice, and was the outstanding player on the pitch. West Ham counter-attacked with vicious intent, and Newcastle were utterly incapable of finding any offensive reply of their own. A first home win for the Hammers resulted, and for Newcastle, only more troubling questions were uncovered here.
Formations
A back four of James Tomkins, Winston Reid, Gabriel Ogbonna and Aaron Cresswell turned out once for the second week in a row. Mark Noble, recently appointed the club captain, was partnered by Cheikhou Kouyate in midfield, while Manuel Lanzini, Payet and Victor Moses all started behind Diafra Sakho. It was a less defensive minded 4-2-3-1 arrangement from Bilic, with the wholly defensive Pedro Obiang left out. Andy Carroll was also in the West Ham squad for the first time since February, a formidable Plan B, if nothing else.
The Newcastle line up was much as expected, a 4-2-3-1, with Cisse in for the suspended Aleksandar Mitrovic, but the rest remaining in the places they held last round against Arsenal. Vurnon Anita and Jack Colback, a neat and tidy pairing to be sure, but one perhaps lacking in dynamism and incision, were placed to presumably form a solid screen in front of the defence. Chieck Toite, a player who used to fill this screening role, didn’t even make the bench.
The last time Steve McClaren met Slaven Bilic in a competitive match, he was the manager of a talented team who were plagued by an inability to function as a cohesive attacking unit – the England national team, of course. His Newcastle side are yet to win in the league, and so were looking to exorcise some long-standing demons for their manager here.
Kouyate’s versatility a bonus for the Hammers
The Senegalese was returned by Bilic to his more familiar position of defensive midfielder, pairing up nicely with Noble in a hinging system that ebbed and flowed with the tempo of the match. Here his brief was less break-neck than it has been in previous weeks, surging forward more discreetly, and only when Noble was swinging back to cover against the counter. His talents at the attacking end are clear; entering this match he was the top scorer for the club. But those long legs are just as suited to breaking up the play as they are running at defenders. His presence, sinewy and sturdy, hindered the comparatively lightweight Colback and Anita from affecting Newcastle’s attacking play.
Anita couldn’t man-mark Payet, but who can?
Anita, who had been firmly attached to Payet through the opening 10 minutes, was found wanting at the crucial moment, being dragged to Mark Noble’s slaloming run into the box. He left Payet for only a few seconds, but that was more than enough. Payet was found by Noble on the edge of the box, and curled in a superbly controlled shot. McClaren’s decision to assign a player to Payet wasn’t necessarily a poor tactical decision, but perhaps future opponents of West Ham will learn from the result of it. Payet has become one of the slipperiest attackers in the league, and McClaren’s dedicated man-marker Anita will not be the only one to fail to cover him this season. A zonal system, designed to restrict the space and not the man, might be a better way of stopping West Ham’s talented Frenchman.
Tomkins no longer a stop-gap at right back
Although he was removed from the position half an hour into the match, to slide into replace the injured Ogbonna at centre back, Tomkins began the game at right-back and looked once again an assured figure there. This lopsided approach, with Tomkins holding, and Cresswell still pushing up considerably on the other flank, has evolved from a stop-gap into a viable first-choice arrangement. Newcastle found no joy on Tomkins’ flank while he was patrolling it, and with Lanzini disciplined in his tracking-back, it almost appeared as if West ham were playing with five defenders at times. Carl Jenkinson played well after he came on, but his flank wasn’t as secure as it had been. Tomkins is a fine defender and one now, it seems, who can play in two positions.
Newcastle were handed the initiative, and were found wanting
The Magpies enjoyed 70% of the possession over the first 10 minutes, and yet found themselves behind. With an hour gone, Newcastle had over 100 more passes completed than the home team. They finished the match with 55% of the possession. But their statistical dominance in these areas disguises their toothlessness in attack. As soon as Payet scored the first goal, West Ham were able to play largely behind the ball, breaking at speed, with Payet, Moses and Lanzini all sparkling. Moses’ barnstorming run and shot, cannoning off the bar, but then tucked in by Payet, came directly after a Newcastle free kick. Newcastle, stunted and disjointed, found it hard to bring their attackers into the game; Anita and Colback couldn’t link the defence and attack with enough purpose. Their neat and tidy passing was all well and good for keeping the ball, but when urgency was required, it tended to bog down the away sides’ play. Giorginio Wijnaldum was seen dropping deep into his own half to try and rectify the problem in the second half, but his team were two goals behind by then. West Ham have clearly been at their best when playing reactively, so Newcastle’s ineffectiveness, as well as Payet’s goals, meant that this match suited the hosts perfectly.
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Cresswell’s flank remains an area of defensive weakness
Perhaps a full back who attacks as well as Cresswell – and as frequently – must necessarily be in near-constant danger of being punished for his progressiveness. Daryl Janmaat was Newcastle’s brightest attacking player throughout, and his directness on Newcastle’s right side offered McClaren some much needed zest. That Cresswell’s flank is West Ham’s weakest point is perhaps an unavoidable chink in their otherwise excellent defence. Still, Janmaat and McClaren are to be commended for exploiting it, even if it was only to minimal effect here.
Conclusion
Newcastle were never really in this contest, and West Ham finally found a method for success at home; namely, to play as if they’re the away team, allowing the opposition the ball, defending stoutly, and breaking with pace. There are few things more gratifying to witness than a deftly executed counter-attack, and the Hammers fans have now had the distinct pleasure at Upton Park. Newcastle’s attacking woes continue, and McClaren will not enjoy being, once again, on the bitter losing end of a contest against Slaven Bilic. Hide the brollies.
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