West Ham made their 10 day wait for their Premier League 2 Division 2 game worthwhile as they beat Newcastle 4-0 at the Rush Green Stadium.
Goals from Anthony Scully, Alfie Lewis and the returning Nathan Holland sealed the points for the Irons.
Dmitri Halajko made changes to his team’s previous outing against Fulham, with the likes of Ben Johnson and November’s Premier League 2 Player of The Month Nathan Holland returned to a strong starting eleven.
Remarkable Rosa
The Hammers took the lead after five minutes through Scully. Holland’s backheel pass reached the overlapping Bernardo Rosa, who deputised at left-back, and crossed in for Scully to head into the bottom right corner from close range.
From the resulting kick off, Newcastle came close to an equaliser. A cross was pushed away from goal from Joseph Anang, into the path of Rosaire Longelo to tap in the rebound, but Rosa was on hand to preserve the Irons’ clean sheet with a well timed block.
Longelo’s Limelight
After 17 minutes, Rosa was reverted to right-back due to Ben Johnson picking up an injury. Johnson, who usually plays at left back, was replaced by Emmanuel Longelo, brother of Rosaire.
West Ham double their lead through Nathan Holland in the 33rd minute. Longelo’s deflected through ball fell at the feet of Holland who accelerated into the box and finished into the bottom right hand corner with his left foot.
During the celebtrations, Newcastle were forced into a change as the injured Ludwig Franciellete was substituted for Lucas Gamblin.
Holland came close to adding a third for West Ham but his low driven shot from 20 yards out went just wide of Daniel Langley’s left corner.
The final chance of the half fell to the visitors. Rosaire Longelo’s cross towards Anang’s back post was met by Jamie Sterry, but pressure from Amadou Diallo forced Sterry to delay his header, making his effort a comfortable catch from Anang.
Impactful Substitutions
Halajko wasn’t resting on his laurels as he made a double substitution shortly into the second half. Dan Kemp replaced Diallo and Oladapo Afolayan replaced Scully.
Just four minutes after coming on, Kemp played a pivotal role in West Ham’s third goal. He disposed Oliver Walters on the right, and sent Afolayan through on the right wing, before the substitute held the ball up and found Alfie Lewis, whose late run into the box was rewarded with a composed finish into the bottom left corner.
With the game essentially put to bed, this prompted Newcastle manager Ben Dawson to make another substitute, with Dylan Stephenson coming on for Ryan Barrett.
West Ham came close to adding a fourth, as Kemp’s shot was tipped away for a corner after being put through on goal by Joe Powell.
Finishing With A Flourish
The Hammers eventually got their fourth. A double save from Anang allowed the Hammers to clear the ball to Afolayan who battled well on the halfway line, before spotting an unmarked Nathan Holland, who ran through on goal and finished ruthlessly beyond Langley.
The Manager’s Thoughts
After the game, Halajko praised his team’s efforts in keeping a clean sheet on the club’s website. “A clean sheet always makes everybody happy and scoring four goals is something to be really proud of.” He continued, “regarding the clean sheet, they did have a couple of chances, but when we had to defend we made sure that we did the job.”
The dominating display from West Ham means that they go into the Christmas break as the league leaders and it completes the double over the Magpies who remain in tenth. West Ham’s first game of the new year will be a top of the table clash against Manchester United at the Chigwell Construction Stadium on January 6th.
