London, March 11: Newcastle prepared for the Carabao Cup final with a victory at West Ham that moved them up to sixth in the Premier League.
Eddie Howe’s side will look to end a 70-year wait for a major trophy on Sunday when they take on Premier League leaders Liverpool at Wembley.
They went into Monday’s fixture at London Stadium desperate for a win to ensure they face the Reds with momentum, and they got it thanks to Bruno Guimaraes’ second-half strike.
Moments after Hammers goalkeeper Alphonse Areola made a brilliant save to prevent Max Kilman scoring an own goal, Newcastle struck when Guimaraes turned in Harvey Barnes’ lofted pass.
It was just the tonic Howe’s side, hampered by injuries and suspension, needed after one win in their previous four games.
They were fortunate not to be behind inside the first minute when Tino Livramento missed a clearance and the ball went through to Tomas Soucek, but the midfielder fired over from close range.
Newcastle improved after that and twice went close to taking the lead before the break through Barnes.The forward, making his first league start since 7 December, first turned Kieran Trippier’s low ball towards goal, but Areola reacted quickly to save before Barnes’ header drew another good save out of the West Ham goalkeeper.
After a bright start this was a disappointing performance from the Hammers as they struggled to really threaten Nick Pope in the Newcastle goal.
They had shouts for a penalty waved away in the second half when Jarrod Bowen went down inside the box under a challenge, while they also felt there should have been a foul given in the build-up to the winner for a push on Kilman.
But they ultimately did not do enough themselves to earn a point and defeat leaves them 16th in the table.
It would have been easy for Newcastle’s players to be distracted by the approaching cup final and take their eye off the ball in this game, but they still have plenty to play for in the league – a view shared by Howe as he named a strong XI to face the Hammers.
The travelling fans will have been concerned after two bits of poor defending inside the first 10 minutes, first from Livramento for Soucek’s chance and then when Dan Burn’s rash attempted clearance saw the ball deflect off Edson Alvarez and just over.
But after that the visitors were relatively comfortable, with Barnes taking his chance ahead of Sunday’s final by providing the assist for the winner, as well as going close a couple of times himself.
It was far from a brilliant performance by Newcastle but they did what they needed to and secure a result that leaves them just two points off the top four.
West Ham may be in the bottom half of the table but they are 16 points clear of the relegation zone and also 12 points off the top eight.
It means they pretty much have nothing to play for and that perhaps showed in this performance.They initially looked good, attacking with pace and purpose down the wings and with crosses causing a nervous Newcastle defence problems.
But after a positive opening 10 minutes that largely stopped, with Newcastle having most of the ball as the Hammers showed a distinct lack of a cutting edge, failing to manage a shot of note in the second half. (AP)
