Harvey Barnes has spent much of the season sitting on a physiotherapy table at Newcastle's training ground but, by finally getting off it, the striker has thrown open a window offering tantalizing glimpses of exciting European sights.
Barnes scored two late goals in a brief substitute cameo, turning around a match in which West Ham had won 3-1, not to mention damaging not only the visitors' European ambitions but also their manager's job security. , David Moyes.
There were times when Eddie Howe's position at St James' Park looked in danger of becoming less secure, but thanks to stellar performances from Barnes, Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon, an injury-ravaged team evidently reinvigorated by a recent break in Dubai he recovered to seal the victory. .
It didn't take long for Isak to send Alphonse Areola backwards from the penalty spot and score his sixth goal in eight first division games. That penalty was awarded after Gordon marked his return from England by cleverly maneuvering between Vladimir Coufal and the ball. Sure enough, the defender was provoked and awarded what briefly, and for quite some time deceptively, looked like a penalty that defined the afternoon.
For a few minutes it looked like the game was going to get away from West Ham, but Newcastle lost pace after their captain, centre-back Jamaal Lascelles, limped off with a knee injury.
Shortly after a defensive reshuffle resulting with the introduction of Emil Krafth at right back, Lucas Paquetá launched a sublime pass over the Newcastle defence. Michail Antonio, who was right in the box, moved away from Fabian Schär and took advantage of Martin Dubravka's initial indecision about whether to retreat or not by deftly shooting past the Slovakian goalkeeper.
Bruno Guimarães had become increasingly involved in a very intriguing duel in midfield with his Brazilian teammate Paquetá. Guimarães, who was not willing to be overshadowed by the latter, soon hit the bar.
By then the excellent Gordon should probably have restored Newcastle's lead but, after connecting with Jacob Murphy's cross, the winger headed wide with Areola surely beaten.
Fortunately for Moyes, Mohammed Kudus proved considerably more accurate after receiving Jarrod Bowen's shot. He fired a high shot past Dubravka after a quick free kick taken by Paquetá.
That sparked an outburst of fury from the Gallowgate End, who reminded referee Rob Jones that Schär was on the ground with a head injury when the Ghanaian scored. Ironically, Schär had suffered the damage by fouling Kudus to concede the set piece from which West Ham scored.
While Schär re-emerged in the second half, it was no surprise when Lukasz Fabianski replaced Areola after the latter spent the final minutes of the first half unable to kick the ball from any distance.
Dubravka could have been forgiven for wishing he too had been able to retire at half-time. He put the ball out of the back of the net for the third time after Bowen scored his 15th Premier League goal of the season from the edge of the area two minutes into the second half.
A particularly sloppy pass from the Newcastle defense left a hurried Bowen clearing away into acres of space as he was played out by Kudus' clever counter-attack after a corner.
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Howe responded with a triple substitution, replacing the injured Tino Livramento and the out-of-form Joe Willock and Krafth with Miguel Almirón, Elliot Anderson and Lewis Hall. His team warmed up a bit, forcing Konstantinos Mavropanos into a couple of important defensive interceptions only for Almirón to suddenly retire with a hamstring injury. He duly made way for Barnes.
By then, Isak and Sean Longstaff had each missed a reliever for Newcastle, as Moyes took the precaution of sending out Kalvin Phillips in place of Antonio.
With Schär looking like he too has pulled a hamstring, West Ham's lead looks fairly secure. Or at least that was the case until a VAR review preceded the awarding of a penalty after Gordon went into almost carbon copy mode and got between Phillips and the ball, committing a foul.
Once again Isak stepped up and delighted in beating Fabianski from 12 yards. An incandescent Moyes seemed adamant that Gordon had misled the referees by strategically placing a foot in the path of intended defensive clearances and that there should have been no penalty.
While the West Ham manager received a yellow card for arguing vehemently with Jones and his colleagues, Howe was able to reflect that the two best individuals in his team here (and by some distance) had combined to bring Newcastle back to life.
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Suddenly, the equalizer arrived and it came when Barnes embarked on a subtly curling run that culminated in a low shot that fired past Fabianski. The substitute goalkeeper was soon beaten again when Gordon signaled for Barnes to send a shot deflecting past him from 20 yards, but the drama was far from over.
In the fifth minute of added time, Gordon received a second yellow card and was sent off for foolishly kicking the ball after conceding a free kick. It means he will miss Tuesday night's match against his former club Everton.
