Newcastle United forward William Osula scored twice as his side beat West Ham United 3-1 at St James’ Park on Sunday to leave the Londoners perilously close to relegation from the Premier League after another shambolic display.
With Wolverhampton Wanderers and Burnley already relegated, West Ham is in 18th place on 36 points, two behind Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs could condemn the side to the drop if it beats Chelsea in its penultimate league game of the season at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
Once again, West Ham was punished by a lack of precision, with inaccurate passing and wayward finishing costing the side a shot at a win it desperately needed if it were to have a chance of surviving.
The tone was set in the 15th minute when the visitor gave the ball away cheaply, and Harvey Barnes crossed for Nick Woltemade to score with a deft side-footed finish, his first league goal since December.
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Four minutes later, it went 2-0 down as Newcastle carved the team open, Osula slotting the ball through the keeper’s legs for a simple finish that left West Ham’s defenders shaking their heads.
The Hammers had two great chances to reduce the deficit on the half-hour mark, but Nick Pope pulled off two fine reaction saves to deny Taty Castellanos and Malick Diouf in quick succession.
Osula’s second goal in the 65th minute looked to have killed the game off, but Castellanos threw his side a lifeline with a stunning finish four minutes later.
Castellanos then struck the woodwork in the 78th minute and went close with a glancing header that almost caught Pope off guard six minutes later, but that was as close as they came.
West Ham now faces an anxious wait to see if Chelsea can do it a favour against Spurs and give the side something to play for at home to Leeds United on the final day of the season next Sunday.
“The first 20 minutes were so painful for us – we had been training all week to do one thing, and we arrived here and didn’t do it,” West Ham midfielder Mateus Fernandes said, adding that he and his teammates were to blame for the poor performance.
“This week, we just need to believe and do our things. It is our responsibility, and we need to do much better... Since the first day it has been the players who decide the games; everyone needs to take responsibility for this moment and be a man.”
Published on May 18, 2026