NEWCASTLE: 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 are in 18th place on 36 points, two behind Tottenham Hotspur, and Spurs could condemn them to the drop if they beat Chelsea in their penultimate league game of the season at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.

Once again, West Ham were punished by their lack of precision, with inaccurate passing and wayward finishing costing them a shot at a win they desperately needed if they are to have a chance of surviving.

The tone was set in the 15th minute when the visitors 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.

Four minutes later they went 2-0 down as Newcastle carved them open, Osula slotting the ball through the keepers 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 Castellano’s threw his side a lifeline with a stunning finish four minutes later.

Castellano’s 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 face an anxious wait to see if Chelsea can do them a favour against Spurs and give them something to play for at home to Leeds United on the final day of the season next Sunday.

“The first 20 minutes was so painful for us - we have been training all week to do one thing, and we arrive 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 is the players who decide the games, everyone needs to take responsibility for this moment and be a man.”

Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2026