Nuno Espírito Santo hailed his West Ham side's resilience after they secured a first victory of his tenure, beating Newcastle 3-1 at the London Stadium. The win, only their second of the Premier League season, lifted them off the bottom of the table and gave fans renewed hope in the fight against relegation.
Newcastle took an early lead through Jacob Murphy after just four minutes, but West Ham responded with a dominant first-half display. Lucas Paquetá equalised on the half-hour mark with a long-range strike that beat Nick Pope. The Brazilian was instrumental throughout, also playing a key role in the second goal, an own goal by Sven Botman from Aaron Wan-Bissaka's cross.
Tomas Soucek sealed the points in second-half added time, turning home from close range after a goalmouth scramble. The result was Nuno's first win in five attempts since taking over, and the club's first home league victory since February. 'I'm very happy with the result,' Nuno said. 'We gave our fans something small, and what they gave us back was huge.'
Eddie Howe admitted his Newcastle side were well below par, describing it as their worst performance during their recent run. 'The dynamism wasn't there today,' he said. 'The physicality, the energy was missing. It was hugely frustrating.' The Magpies remain without an away league win this season, despite their strong form in cup competitions.
