Newcastle v West Ham 16/11/96 3.00Newcastle (0) 1 West Ham (1) 1 FT Beardsley 83 Rowland 23 Peter Beardsley snatched the 200th league goal of his career to salvage a point for Premiership leaders Newcastle against West Ham at St James' Park. Beardsley fired home an equaliser eight minutes from time when it looked as though the defiant Hammers, leading by Keith Rowland's first-half header, were going to hang on for an improbable victory. Kevin Keegan's men almost snatched an 86th-minute winner when substitute Steve Watson clipped the crossbar with a header from David Ginola's corner, but the Hammers held out for a hard-earned draw. Newcastle had let two points slip away, but remain top courtesy of Manchester United's 1-0 win against Arsenal at Old Trafford. Newcastle had hoped to consolidate their position at the top of the Premiership against a side that had lost on its last four visits to Tyneside. But Rowland's goal midway against the run of play midway through the first-half West Ham's first Premiership goal at St James' Park left them chasing the game. 
The Magpies lost 11-goal leading scorer Les Ferdinand, led off suffering from concussion a minute before the break, and rarely looked like breaking down the Hammers' stubborn defence after the break without their England striker. Newcastle, with eight wins from their last nine league games, were not surprisingly unchanged for the visit of 12th-placed West Ham. Keegan had no hesitation in retaining the three-man defence which served Newcastle so well against Ferencvaros in the UEFA Cup and against Middlesbrough a fortnight ago against a Hammers side struggling to score goals just 11 in 12 league games. Harry Redknapp's men were looking to put an unhappy record at St James' Park behind them. The Hammers had lost on their last four visits, conceding nine goals and failing to score, and they had three players sent off over the four games. Steve Potts was dismissed in last season's 3-0 defeat, Dutchman Jeroen Boere was sent off three years ago on his debut and Julian Dicks was dismissed in the 1992 meeting. Dane Marc Rieper and on-loan Portuguese striker Hugo Porfirio were ruled out by injuries suffered while on international duty last weekend and Aussie Stan Lazaridis was also sidelined. Potts returned to the side along with Romanian Florin Raducioiu. Newcastle came flying out of the blocks and West Ham found themselves under siege in the opening minutes. Czech keeper Ludek Miklosko denied Ferdinand twice inside the opening two minutes, diving to his left to keep out a close-range shot and a downward header. Keith Rowland was booked for a foul on Ferdinand as West Ham battled desperately to stem the early tide, but Newcastle kept pouring forward and Faustino Asprilla's flick released Rob Lee into space only for the midfielder to aim his shot straight at Miklosko. West Ham had weathered the early storm and they stunned their hosts by taking a 22nd-minute lead. Tim Breacker's right-wing cross found Rowland unmarked at the far post and he powered a header into the roof of the net. Newcastle's response was swift and Miklosko dived high to his left to tip over a 25-yard curler from David Ginola, who had collected the October goal-of-the-month award before the game for his stunning volley in the UEFA Cup win over Ferencvaros. 
Julian Dicks robbed Ferdinand with a sliding tackle inside the box after Peter Beardsley had split open the Hammers defence and the visitors were saved by the woodwork four minutes from the break. Philippe Albert latched onto a ricochet from a Beardsley shot and his effort hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced down on the line enabling West Ham to scramble clear. Ferdinand was hurt winning a header inside the box that led to Beardsley's effort and, after prolonged treatment, he trudged off looking groggy to be replaced by Clark. Newcastle produced an inevitable surge of pressure at the start of the second-half and West Ham's goal had a charmed life. Ginola's deflected long-range effort looped over Miklosko onto the roof of the net and Lee's low drive, following a quickly worked free kick, rebounded to safety off the post. West Ham held out grimly until the 82nd minute when Beardsley found room on the left edge of the area to squeeze a low shot inside Miklosko's right-hand post. 
Newcastle: Srnicek, Elliott (Beresford, 80), Albert, Peacock, Batty, Lee, Gillespie (Watson, 76), Ginola, Beardsley, Asprilla, Ferdinand (Clark, 44). Subs not used: Hislop, Barton. West Ham: Miklosko, Breacker, Dicks, Potts, Bilic, Rowland, Bishop, Moncur, Raducioiu (Futre, 64), Dowie, Hughes. Subs not used: Shilton, Lampard, Brown, Bowen. Booked: Rowland, Moncur, Bilic, Dicks. Attendance: 36,552. Referee: P Danson (Leicester). |
