NEWCASTLE: Eddie Howe has hailed the impact of Newcastle United match-winner Harvey Barnes, who netted twice as the Magpies came back from the dead to claim three Premier League points against rivals West Ham.
Newcastle looked to have let the win slip as Alexander Isak’s opener was canceled out by Michail Antonio, Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen. But a remarkable second-half comeback saw Isak net again, before substitute Barnes come off the bench to net an impressive late double.
The win, the first time the Magpies have come from behind to claim victory, sees them stay right in the mix for the European places, which could go down to eighth.
Howe said the performance, from both the Magpies and West Ham United, was a one for the ages.
“A brilliant advert for the Premier League in terms of the drama, the changes in the game and the flows of momentum,” he said in the aftermath of the 4-3 win.
“I have to credit the players in how they responded to lots of different moments and adversity. From 3-1 down, that looked a really difficult point in our season, but they remained calm and kept doing the right things. That’s an incredible win for us.”
Barnes, just back from injury, undoubtedly takes the headlines after this one, but he was not the only player to impress off the bench, with Lewis Hall a catalyst, and the energy and physicality of Elliot Anderson also impressing.
Howe said: “I thought all the substitutes made a real impact; I thought they did really, really well. Very pleased for all those players individually. But yes, difficult for us, especially losing Jamaal Lascelles so early, we looked really good in the game and then I make a change that reshuffles the back four, and then it’s difficult for us to maybe have the same authority as we had earlier.
“We conceded which is never a good thing for confidence. I thought we played really well in the first half; we were dominant and had lots of chances but find ourselves 2-1 down. Credit to how the players and how they responded to that.”
Barnes has endured a stop-start beginning to life on Tyneside, having arrived from Leicester City only last summer. Goals, when available, have flowed, but availability has been the major issue.
“The thing with Harvey is he’s a goal-scorer. He does score goals,” said Howe. “You look at his statistics and record, it’s incredible, really, for a wide player. We felt when signing him he could do similar numbers for us and he has just been struck by injuries and he’s had a difficult start to his Newcastle career but the quality is there. The two finishes today were typical Harvey, not easy to score the first one although one-on-one. The second one, I hope, will live on for a long time because at 3-3, he still has so much to do. It was a great goal.”
Hall, on loan from Chelsea, has also struggled since arriving. Some 45-minute cameos earlier in the season were, until this week, all the player really had to show for his first season at his boyhood club.
But thrown on at 3-1 down, his impact was stark, with Howe picking the youngster out for praise.
“The first change is a difficult one because Dan Burn has played left-back for so long and we view him in that position, but I felt he was the best one to go inside.
“I could have possibly brought Lewis on at that stage, but I went for a little bit more height with Emil Krafth with West Ham’s set play threat, knowing losing Jamaal was a big blow to us physically.
“But second half I wanted to give the subs a chance to get into the game and I felt we needed to because we just lost a bit of momentum at that time. When Lewis, Elliot and Miggy (Almiron) came on, I felt they all gave us a big lift. Then, of course, Harvey scores two goals.”
Next up for Newcastle United is a clash with relegation-threatened Everton at St. James’ Park on Tuesday.
