Premier League: West Ham boss Sam Allardyce welcomes hard-fought win over Newcastle

Sam Allardyce admitted that West Ham enjoyed a slice of fortune during their 1-0 win over Newcastle at Upton Park.

The Hammers moved up to fifth in the Premier League after Aaron Cresswell’s first goal for the club secured the points against Newcastle, who had Moussa Sissoko sent-off in the second-half.

Cheikhou Kouyate’s miskick had fallen perfectly for the full-back in the build-up, but Allardyce felt his side earned their luck after a run of three games without a victory.

“We have to say it’s a fantastic finish from Aaron Cresswell, but rather fortuitous that he got in that position,” he told Sky Sports.

“You wouldn’t expect your full-back to think this maybe comes to me when he’s running into the box, so we give him all the credit for the anticipation that he’s shown. But it was a wonderful, wonderful finish.

“I think it was always looking like a one-nil today apart from when Newcastle went down to 10-men and then we had several chances to kill the game off and you’ve always got that little bit of anxiety that any slip when you are 1-0 up may cost you, even against 10 men.

“It was a fantastic victory for us and I think that in the end the victory was more important, because we have played much better than that. The 1-0 was well received by everybody today.”

West Ham, without summer recruits Diafra Sakho and Enner Valencia, still managed to succumb an in-form Newcastle side and Allardyce was grateful for the points ahead of a hectic festive schedule.

He said: “Getting back on the winning trail, if we are at this stage at the season, going into December and certainly with the injuries that we’ve got at the moment, you’ve got to overcome and overcoming it is by making sure the team that goes out there gets a result.

“When you consider that Newcastle are the in-form team in the Premier League, six wins on the trot, it’s a massive, massive victory for us.”