West Ham: Dean Ashton raves over ‘perfect’ moment in Newcastle United clash
Dean Ashton was amazed by Alexander Isak’s calm penalty after Vladimir Coufal was penalised just three minutes into West Ham v Newcastle United on Saturday (30 March).
The Magpies were given a chance to open the scoring moments into the match at St James’ Stadium, with Coufal raking his studs down the back of Anthony Gordon’s calf in the penalty area.
The Czech international looked to have his blushes spared, with Michail Antonio and Mohammed Kudus overturning the early deficit and Jarrod Bowen putting them 3-1 ahead, only for the Magpies to win a thriller 4-3 thanks to a second Isak penalty and a Harvey Barnes double.
Speaking live via talkSPORT on Saturday (30 March, 12:36pm), Ashton said: “He does send Areola the wrong way, but it wouldn’t have mattered if he went the right way.
“This penalty kisses the inside of the post; it’s absolutely perfect. It’s got the pace, it’s got the accuracy, but maybe feels a little sigh of relief that it doesn’t come back at it.”
West Ham United hand themselves early setback v Newcastle United
David Moyes will have been livid to see one of his players start the match in such a clumsy fashion, giving a penalty away after three minutes, and one of his senior players to boot.
Coufal has been one of the Scot’s favourite players this season, starting 28 of the Hammers’ 30 Premier League matches, even taking the captain’s armband in the reverse leg against the Magpies.
The 31-year-old is one of the more mature players in the West Ham squad and should certainly know better, especially up against a formidable winger like Gordon.
The Hammers have now conceded the most penalties in the division this season, going one above Everton, a statistic that Moyes will want to eradicate at the London Stadium.
The manager is unlikely to punish Coufal by dropping him from the starting XI, however, with Ben Johnson the only other option, a defender who has only made four league starts this campaign.
In other West Ham news, another update has emerged on David Moyes’ future.
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