Fortuitous goal enough to end Newcastle's run

ALL good things must come to an end and so it proved on Saturday as Newcastle’s six-match winning run was brought to a halt as they slipped to a defeat at Upton Park.

Five of those last six matches had been in the Premier League as Alan Pardew’s side had fashioned a remarkable turnaround from the early season form which had caused so much unrest from the club’s supporters with team winless in seven.

There was no shame in the loss to West Ham – who now average two points a game over their last seven matches – as two in-form sides met in a game that was as tight as their respective league positions suggested and involved a manager and a striker facing their former clubs.

But rather than Andy Carroll posing the superior threat at his new home it was a Ayoze Perez that looked the more likely to get on the scoresheet after three goals in his previous four appearances but, ultimately, it was through a major stroke of fortune that Hammers left-back Aaron Cresswell won the game with a 56th-minute goal that was his first for the club.

Although United’s attempts to get back into the game were dealt a major blow when a mad minute for Moussa Sissoko earned him two yellow cards and a dismissal with 15 minutes of the match remaining.

Daryl Janmaat picked up an injury which makes him a doubt for tomorrow's night’s trip to Burnley while Jack Colback got his fifth booking of the campaign and will join Sissoko in missing the match through suspension.

Pardew revealed after this game that he has been dealt a further blow with the loss of goalkeeper Tim Krul to an ankle injury which is set to keep him out of action for four or five weeks, so Rob Elliot can expect a run in the first team in his absence.

In a match that could have gone either way Carroll had little impact against his former club – ably marshalled by Mike Williamson - while former Hammers boss Pardew could rightly feel aggrieved his side came away with nothing.

Pardew made no secret of his admiration for Carroll in the build up to the game and admitted that he would relish the chance to bring the nine-cap England striker back to his hometown club after Carroll had left for Liverpool in a £35m deal in January of 2011.

But Perez looked a greater threat in the opening period as the visitors fashioned a decent chance on three minutes when Yoan Gouffran slid a pass to the 21-year-old striker who managed to roll James Collins before dragging his effort across the face of goal.

It was about as close as either side got during the opening half with the Hammers testing Elliot just once when Stewart Downing fired straight at him.

A burst of pace from Sissoko put the home side on the back foot before finding Perez in the area, only for his touch to desert him and allow Carl Jenkinson to clear.

And three minutes before the break the Hammers had a penalty shout as a ball dropped to Carroll in the area and he smashed it towards goal and into the hand of Williamson at point-blank range – with referee Mike Dean waving away calls for a spot-kick that would have been harsh.

With both sides playing five men across their midfield the game appeared destined to stay goalless had the second 45 minutes of the game gone the same way as the opening half.

Then 11 minutes after the break Cresswell pounced thanks to a huge slice of luck. Downing fed a pass into Cheikhou Kouyate from the left and the Senegal midfielder took a touch before firing off a shot that was so badly scuffed it turned into a perfectly-weighted through ball for the defender to run in behind United’s defence and slot in from close range.

United searched for an equaliser with Papiss Cisse thrown on for Cheick Tiote and Remy Cabella for Gouffran, with Sissoko instrumental in much of their build-up play, before two crazy challenges in the space of a minute earned him a 76th-minute red card.

He firstly shoved James Tomkins to the ground when trying to get to the ball in the Hammers' area before an ankle-high lunge on Carroll got him his marching orders and effectively ended his side’s hopes of getting anything from the game, despite some late pressure in the four minutes of added-on time.