Vladimir Coufal flops, MOTM Mohammed Kudus shines – West Ham player ratings v Newcastle
West Ham let a 3-1 advantage slip, falling to a 4-3 defeat against Newcastle at St James’ Park on 30 March.
Alexander Isak put Newcastle ahead from the spot after just six minutes, but Michail Antonio restored parity a quarter of an hour later and Mohammed Kudus made it 2-1 deep into first-half stoppage time.
Jarrod Bowen looked to have sealed three points for the Hammers shortly after the restart but a second penalty from Isak and a late double from substitute Harvey Barnes sealed the Irons’ defeat.
West Ham Zone rates each player’s performance out of 10.
Alphonse Areola – 6 (Off for Fabianski ’46)
Went the wrong way for Isak’s penalty but had no chance of stopping it anyway. Did little else wrong, making a handful of standard saves before going off injured at half-time.
Vladimir Coufal – 2 (Off for Ings ’93)
Gave a penalty away with a clumsy challenge on Anthony Gordon less than three minutes on the clock and was terrorised by the winger in the first half – only some wayward finishing prevented the right-back from being at fault for more than one goal.
Konstantinos Mavropanos – 5
Had an awful lot of defending to do and wasn’t really at fault for any of Newcastle’s four goals – but equally failed to exert any control.
Kurt Zouma – 4
A largely passive performance from the centre-back, who was largely uninvolved both in and out of possession.
Emerson Palmieri – 4
Like Zouma, Emerson had next to no impact in attack and was exposed down his side defensively.
Tomas Soucek – 6
Battled well in midfield in a chaotic game and acquitted himself admirably, save for a bizarre decision in second-half stoppage time to chest the ball rather than head it in for what would have been a late equaliser.
James Ward-Prowse – 5 (Off for Johnson ’84)
An anonymous performance from the midfielder before his substitution. Was generally safe with his passing but did not really affect the game.
Jarrod Bowen – 8
Didn’t know too much about the assist – he was taking a big touch to work a shooting angle for himself – but made an incisive run to meet Paqueta’s quick free-kick and stretched the game well before his well-taken goal early in the second half.
Lucas Paqueta – 7
Showed his technical prowess with a superb ball over the top on the turn to pick out Antonio for the equaliser and sharp thinking for the quick free-kick that released Bowen ahead of Kudus’ strike, along with a number of other deft touches. His influence was limited after being moved out wide following Phillips’ introduction for Antonio.
Mohammed Kudus – 8
Went on a superb run in first-half stoppage time, wriggling away from several challenges before being stopped at the edge of the box by a shoulder charge from Dan Burn. He was not to be denied shortly after, when he lashed Bowen’s heavy touch past Martin Dubravka to put the Hammers ahead and showcased his terrific close control again early in the second half before playing Bowen into acres of space for the Hammers’ third goal.
Michail Antonio – 7 (Off for Phillips ’69)
Looked lively even before scoring the equaliser with a composed, thumping finish when one-on-one after making a clever run in behind off the back of his marker.
Subs
Lukasz Fabianski – 4 (On for Areola ’46)
Little blame can be attributed to the Pole despite the side conceding three goals after his introduction. The first was a penalty and the third a dazzling finish – though he may regret being nutmegged for the equaliser to make it 3-3.
Kalvin Phillips – 2 (On for Antonio ’69)
Was unfortunate to give the penalty away with his attempted clearance as Gordon nipped in from behind him but the loanee can have no complaints about the decision. Failed to otherwise impact proceedings.
Ben Johnson – N/A (On for Ward-Prowse ’84)
In other West Ham news, David Moyes shared a joke he made with Bowen after the international break.
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