Kevin Nolan's first-half goal against
his former club proved enough to see
off a lacklustre Newcastle and propel
West Ham into the top six.
Nolan ghosted in at the far post to turn
in Joey O'Brien's mis-hit shot.
Newcastle were denied an equaliser
when the officials ruled that goalkeeper
Jussi Jaaskelainen had prevented
Demba Ba's header from crossing the
line.
Former Magpie Andy Carroll could have
given West Ham breathing space but
Tim Krul pulled off a fine one-handed
save.
The home side's performance was so
lacking in precision or passion that a
2-0 scoreline would hardly have
flattered the upwardly mobile
Hammers.
And the result will bring immense
satisfaction to West Ham boss Sam
Allardyce, who last week described his
sacking by the Magpies after 24 games
in 2008 as one of the lowest points in
his career.
In their first season back in the Premier
League, the Hammers were
comfortable victors - despite losing
three players to injury - and, in the
tireless Nolan, had comfortably the best
player on the pitch.
Indeed, Newcastle boss Alan Pardew's
pre-match suggestion that he would
welcome Nolan and Carroll back to St
James' Park looked entirely justified in a
blunt attacking display in which striker
Papiss Cisse and his half-time
replacement Shola Ameobi were
particularly ineffective.
An opening 30 minutes low on quality
and goalmouth action was
characterised by misplaced passes and
mistimed challenges.
Both sides were forced into an early
change. First, Newcastle captain Jonas
Gutierrez came off worst in a 50-50
tackle with Yossi Benayoun, then West
Ham winger Matt Jarvis made way for
Mali forward Modibo Maiga.
Carroll, whose every touch for Liverpool
was booed when the sides met in April,
received a noticeably less hostile
reception from the fans who used to
revere him.
In the context of a dire game, West
Ham's opener was as unexpected as it
was welcome for the neutral. A cross
aimed at Carroll was headed as far as
O'Brien on the right and the full-back's
shot was turned in by Nolan.
The Hammers midfielder, who declined
to perform his trademark chicken dance
celebration against his old club, could
have doubled the lead moments later
but he sliced his left-footed shot wide
from the edge of the box.
Newcastle's rally, which began before
the break with half-chances for Hatem
Ben Arfa and Yohan Cabaye, almost
brought the equaliser within a minute
of the restart.
Ba's powerful header bounced
awkwardly in front of Jaaskelainen, who
clawed the ball back from the goal-line.
Newcastle's players were convinced the
ball had crossed the line but
inconclusive replays appeared to justify
the officials' decision not to award a
goal.
The Magpies continued to press
forward but their play lacked subtlety in
the final third.
Most of the home side's best chances
came from corners, with half-time
substitute Shola Ameobi wasting a free
header from Cabaye's perfect delivery.
Newcastle's commitment to attack was
always likely to leave gaps at the back
and when Carroll capitalised on a
defensive mix-up to exchange passes
with Nolan, the former Geordie
favourite found himself clean through
on goal.
Carroll's slight hesitation, however, gave
Krul time to set himself and pull off an
excellent stop with his outstretched left
hand.
The hosts' desperation for an equaliser
saw Krul sent up for a late corner, but
the Hammers held on for their first win
at St James' Park since October 1998.
Newcastle boss Alan Pardew: "We are
kicking ourselves. It was the West Ham
performance we knew we were going to
get but what we lacked was the verve
and imagination to unlock them.
"We had eight or nine shots but none
with any purpose or quality. Newcastle
at home must score one, two, three or
maybe 4 and we got none today.
"It's nothing to do with our European
game - we made lots of changes and
the team was fresh - but we didn't do
ourselves justice in the first 30 minutes.
We didn't come alive until they scored
and that is not good enough.
"We've got a home game [against
Swansea] next week and we're under
pressure to produce a performance
and win."
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