For once, West Ham gave their fans reason to stay behind.
Supporters inside the London Stadium have usually long seen enough by the time the final whistle blows but with many planning to remain in their seats to protest the club’s ownership, they must have wondered what torture they might have to endure.
Instead they were given something they have not felt in a long time.
Not just a first home victory in 248 days – even Newcastle had won here more recently than the Hammers – thanks to goals from Lucas Paqueta, an own goal from Sven Botman and a late third from Tomas Soucek, and a first win for Nuno Espirito Santo, but more than that: a sense of hope and fight.
Daily Mail Sport’s JAMES SHARPE was at the London Stadium and he has picked out some key talking points from the clash.
PAQUETA LEADS THE CHARGE
When Jacob Murphy fired Newcastle into the lead just four minutes into the game, 26 seconds after Jarrod Bowen had struck the post, the inevitable feeling that it could be a long afternoon descended on the London Stadium.
For the first time in a long time, however the team 19th in the table refused to roll over. They pushed Newcastle back. As they soaked up pressure late on, they defended with a rare sense of resilience and attacked with purpose.
Few more so than Paqueta, who showed why Nuno, despite speculation that the Brazilian might be keen to leave in January, would rather him be his ‘symbol’ for West Ham’s resurgence.
Paqueta thrived in the pockets of spaces behind Callum Wilson and produced a superb finish from range to level the scoring in the first half. He raced to the corner in front of the fans, pointed to the sky and punched the air.
NUNO SEES SENSE
This is what can happen when you pick side that makes sense. Nuno’s team selections over his first four winless matches left everyone scratching their heads.
Full-backs on the wrong side, much-needed creative summer midfield signings on the bench, no strikers on the pitch. Not this time.
Amazing what you can achieve with recognised centre forward in the side even if, in Wilson, his best days are behind him.
He provided a focal point that’s long been missing. His hold-up play brought those around him like Bowen and Crysencio Summerville into play.
It allowed Paqueta to pick up the ball and influence the game from more dangerous, deeper areas instead of toiling way as a makeshift striker.
TWO FACES OF TOON
Did Newcastle not realise that when you take the lead against West Ham, you are supposed to go for the kill? Chelsea put five away here, Tottenham three, Palace and Brentford two apiece that could have been plenty more.
Newcastle just couldn’t do it. Despite Jacob Murphy’s strike after just four minutes, the Magpies turned tentative and timid and allowed West Ham to take control.
By the end, Newcastle resorted to taking pot shots from an ever-increasing distance and needed Nick Pope to keep it down to three.
Eddie Howe’s side remain winless on the road and continue to look unrecognisable to the team that’s won its last four home games in all competitions.
Nick Woltemade has four league goals this season but was completely isolated. He touched the ball 14 times before being hooked at half-time, only one of them in the box and four of them in his own half.
The sooner Yoane Wissa comes back from injury to add some variety in attack on the road and allow Woltemade the freedom to roam and create as well as score the better.
POTTS EARNS PLACE
West Ham are a better side with Wilson in it. They are a much better one with Freddie Potts in it too.
The young midfielder was, incredibly, making his first league start of the season and showed just what this ageing Hammers side is missing in the centre of the park.
No side has run fewer miles or sprinted less than West Ham this season and have long needed legs in midfield.
The 22-year-old provided it with a tireless performance against one of the strongest midfields in the division.
This is a club with a long recent tradition of homegrown midfield generals with Mark Noble and Declan Rice before him. ‘He’s one of our own,’ chanted the Hammers fans when Potts thought he’d rounded off his performance with a goal only to see it chalked off for offside.
Potts has a long, long way to go to fill the boots left by those before him but his place in the side not just allows him the chance to follow in their footsteps but also gives the fans a new local lad to rally around. That is important for a club like West Ham.
SIT IN MAKES A STAND
Yet even after this long-awaited victory, there was no forgetting why some were always going to stay behind.
A few thousand fans remained spattered around the London Stadium to continue their demand for co-owner David Sullivan and co-chair Karen Brady to resign.
‘Sack the board,’ they chanted as the West Ham players went through their warm downs. ‘Sullivan out,’ roared another in a bobble hat near the press box.
More than 20,000 boycotted against Brentford, another march is planned for Burnley.
The fans insist they will not stop their fight. At least they saw their players showing some of it too.
