ON THE slow tube ride to Upton Park, three West Ham United fans talked about the season so far. Great, they said. Far better than they expected, the team was playing great football and games that might have been lost or drawn were being won. Then, along came yesterday’s match, delayed by 30 minutes because of a serious road accident on the A13, and West Ham’s fans soon discovered the other side of the football life.
West Ham might easily have won this game. They were the better side and, for long periods, by some distance. There were two reasons why they lost: Michael Owen and Alan Shearer. Owen scored three goals, the first provided by Shearer, the fourth created by him and, of course, the old England centre-forward netted one himself. Consider the captain’s part in this victory. He was up against James Collins, a young centre-back starting his second Premiership game, and the defender held his own. It was just that at the important moments Shearer made the difference. The game turned on the hour, when West Ham were trailing 2-1 but dominating possession and seemingly closing in on an equaliser.
Hayden Mullins crashed the ball off the foot of the post and then, when a ricochet dropped near Collins he played a perfectly controlled volley that comfortably beat Shay Given but who should be on the line blocking the ball away? Shearer, of course. Play then moved to the other end of the pitch and Newcastle launched one of their rare attacks. Alive to Shearer’s run, Owen played the perfect pass through for his captain and once Shearer drew back that right foot, the man on the electronic scoreboard had his finger on the number three key. Shearer’s shot flew into the corner and that was it for West Ham. Three-one down and out.
They got a goal back through Marlon Harewood’s 73rd-minute penalty but Shearer and Owen had the final say; the older one initiating the move that ended with Owen’s third and Newcastle’s fourth goal.
“The strikers were the difference,” said Newcastle manager, Graeme Souness afterwards. “Owen is a proven goalscorer at every level. Once we get everybody fit we’ll create even more openings for him. He was the difference today, along with Alan Shearer.”
It was a remarkable performance by Owen, because for long periods of the match he was alone and almost forgotten up front. He had four scoring chances, converted three and drew an outstanding save from Roy Carroll with the other.
Alan Pardew, the West Ham manager, refused to criticise his team and insisted that on another day the performance they produced might have led to a two-goal victory. “Looking at the result anyone would think we had the runaround today but in terms of football we played some fantastic stuff,” said Pardew. “Mistakes and a pairing that is world-class has cost us the game. I cannot think of a time when Newcastle were in control, but we kept shooting ourselves in the foot.”
It was hard to argue with Pardew, because his team contributed handsomely to an enthralling match and they never accepted defeat.
Newcastle’s fourth goal came when West Ham’s two centre-backs were both at the other end of the pitch, trying to tie the game at 3-3.
Even in defeat, West Ham were a joy to watch. There was a moment, 27 minutes into the game, that crystalised what they are about and why they are the Premiership’s little gems. It began with Shola Ameobi’s run down the Newcastle left, skinning Tomas Repka for pace and threatening mayhem. At that moment Harewood, doubling back to support his full-back, took on Ameobi and easily dispossessed him.
That was good, but then Harewood turned and drove forward into the Newcastle half. It is one thing to turn defence into attack but this was something more. Newcastle’s defenders were at sixes and sevens as Harewood found Carl Fletcher, who played a neat pass into Matthew Etherington’s path.
The winger cut inside, Bobby Zamora made a fine run and was immediately played through. Given denied Zamora with a fine save and the move didn’t get the result it deserved. But that was the way West Ham played; it was all high tempo, crisp passing and forever taking the game to their opponents. How they went in at the interval 2-1 down is a mystery.
Owen, of course, had a lot to do with it because it was his two goals that gave Newcastle their undeserved advantage. Although the striker possesses an uncanny ability to turn up at the right moment, his two first-half goals came all too easily. The first arrived off a Repka mistake, seized on by Owen, who played a one-two with Shearer and then got a little fortunate. His shot was moderately struck and though Carroll got to it, his partial block wasn’t enough to prevent the ball crossing the line. That was the first and though the second was a fine header from Nolberto Solano’s free kick, it was too easy. For all their skill and enthusiasm, West Ham had something of a soft centre. That was a pity, because there were long stretches of the match when their touch and passing embarrassed Newcastle.
What one loves about the Hammers is their exuberance and urgency; they want the game to flow quickly, they sprint to retrieve the ball at throw-ins and when they tied the game at 1-1 through Solano’s own goal, one sensed they would be able to win. Their passing remained excellent, they attacked in waves but Newcastle’s defence was good, especially Titus Bramble and Jean-Alain Boumsong and then at the other end , the Magpies had the game’s two outstanding players.
STAR MAN: Michael Owen (Newcastle)
Player ratings. West Ham United: Carroll 5, Repka 5 (Aliadiere 76min, 5), Ferdinand 5, Collins 6, Konchesky 6, Benayoun 7 (Bellion 62min, 5), Mullins 6, Fletcher 6, Etherington 6, Harewood 6, Zamora 5
Newcastle United: Given 6, Ramage 5, Bramble 6, Boumsong 6, Elliott 6, Solano 5 (Bowyer 79min, 5), Faye 6, Parker 7, Ameobi 5, Shearer 8, Owen 9
Scorers: West Ham United: Solano og 20, Harewood 73 pen
Newcastle: Owen 5, 43, 90, Shearer 66
Referee: P Dowd
Attendance: 34,836
