West Ham realised potential in Newcastle win, says Bowen

Jarrod Bowen believed West Ham showed their potential in the Premier League this season after coming from behind to beat Newcastle United 3-1. 

Hammers captain Bowen had come close to opening the scoring early on as he struck the post, with Jacob Murphy making the most of that reprieve to fire Newcastle ahead on four minutes. 

However, West Ham went into the break in front thanks to Lucas Paqueta's shot from distance before Sven Botman turned into his own net in first-half stoppage time. 

Freddie Potts, on his full Premier League debut, had a goal ruled out for offside, but the three points were sealed in the 97th minute by sliding substitute Tomas Soucek. 

It was a result that moved the Hammers up to 18th in the table, while Nuno Espirito Santo claimed his first win in charge since taking over from Graham Potter in September. 

And Bowen believes West Ham's second win of the season is a solid foundation for the team to build on. 

"It's been a difficult period. I always say the same thing – we're the only ones that can change it. We did that today," Hammers captain Bowen told Sky Sports. 

"We've got potential as a group, we just haven't shown it. The potential we've got, we have to understand it, go out there and show it. Today was a start for that, I thought."

West Ham picked up their first Premier League home win since February, ending a run of nine without victory at the London Stadium (D3 L6). 

In addition, the Hammers won a top-flight game in which they trailed for the first time since a 3-1 triumph over Luton Town in their final home game of the 2023-24 campaign, ending a run of 32 league games without coming from behind to win three points (D7 L25).    

However, some disgruntled fans stayed behind after the final whistle to stage a sit-in protest against the West Ham hierarchy. 

But they will have been pleased about how the Hammers performed, with Sunday's hosts registering an expected goals (xG) total of 1.67 from their 15 shots, nine of which were on target, compared to Newcastle's 0.54 from their 12 attempts. 

However, Nuno still acknowledged areas for improvement, particularly with how his team starts matches. 

Indeed, since the start of last season, West Ham have conceded the most goals in the opening five minutes of Premier League games of any side (seven). 

"The players are realising that winning in the Premier League, we have to work very hard. We will do it again," Nuno said.

"The win makes it easier, there are smiles and the legs feel easier. We see slight improvements on the pitch. We have to create a platform on the pitch."

Paqueta also played his part in the triumph, ending the contest with team-high totals for touches (72), accurate passes (45) and total crosses (six). 

The Brazilian's strike was also his fifth Premier League home goal from outside the area. It is the joint-most times a West Ham player has netted from range in front of their own fans alongside Frank Lampard. 

"Today we showed our character. We played positively and stayed focussed until the end. We played well and got three points. We had to stay together and keep going," he said. 

"Sometimes I try to pass but Jarrod and other players tell me to try to shoot. So I started to try, and I scored, and I'm happy with that."