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EDDIE HOWE has something to smile about at last.
A win to lift the Newcastle spirits ahead of what could be a week for the ages on Tyneside.
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After losing a trio of stars to injury and suspension as well as being dumped out of the FA Cup, a little bit of confidence was returned to the Magpies as Bruno Guimaraes claimed three points at West Ham.
The Toon were far from their best and will have to show far more to down Liverpool at Wembley in the Carabao Cup final.
But they controlled West Ham for the most part, rode out some rough patches and found their way through to move sixth – level on points with Manchester City in those precious Champions League places.
All without the injured Sven Botman and Lewis Hall – and also lacking the pace and precision of Anthony Gordon, suspended for tonight and the final.
Howe, looking to avoid a third straight defeat in all competitions and gain some confidence ahead of the weekend, took the risk of starting Alexander Isak up top.
The Swede was quiet and looked a little off the pace – but he survived any injury scares ahead of the weekend.
There has been natural concern on Tyneside about players’ minds drifting to Sunday over the past couple of weeks.
The Toon have not quite looked themselves since reaching the final as Howe battles to correct patchy performances.
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It is a well-worn cliché rolled out by players that they only focus on the next game.
This side looks like they have been playing with Sunday’s showdown on their minds ever since the semi-final.
Potter, the only other English coach in the Premier League, has had his own problems but was able to welcome Lucas Paqueta back to the squad earlier than expected after his ankle injury.
The Brazilian, though, was only named on the bench as the Hammers boss stuck with the eleven which had won the last two games.
Potter had challenged his side to get the home fans invested and fired up for a game under the lights.
And they certainly raised the roof when welcoming back Michail Antonio to the London Stadium for the first time since his horrific car crash last year.
They could have had the start which would have delivered just that had Tomas Soucek not fired well over the bar from Mohammed Kudus’ cross inside the first minute.
The Hammers had the better chances but neither team looked dangerous across a fiddly first half.
Jarrod Bowen managed to wriggle into the box but fired a tame low effort straight at Nick Pope, before Kudus also saw a pot-shot stopped from range.
Even with Isak back, Newcastle looked out of sorts going forwards.
Harvey Barnes, bidding to keep his place for the final, had a couple of half chances but could not convert.
PAPotter has improved West Ham’s defensive record since replacing Julen Lopetegui, but they were hardly being stretched to their limits by the visitors.
Despite being solid, the hosts were struggling to apply pressure or create anything clear cut.
Kudus passed up a golden chance on the break but struggled to control the ball and got in the way when Bowen had a crack with the loose ball.
West Ham’s two forwards found more gaps after the break, with Kudus causing particular trouble.
They looked dangerous but, with their two fit strikers on the bench, were lacking the support to be truly dangerous.
Newcastle had hardly come flying out the box, but finally found something to get them going.
Alphonse Areola had to make an acrobatic stop after Jacob Murphy’s cross was almost sent looping into the Hammers goal by Max Kilman – though it may not have survived an offside check.
Two minutes later, there was a Newcastle shirt ready to meet the cross and put them ahead.
Having seen an initial effort blocked, Barnes collected the rebound and clipped a smart cross into the six yard box where Guimaraes slipped his markers and prodded home.
Potter responded with a triple change before, a few minutes later, also sending January signing Evan Ferguson on.
Sub Paqueta lifted a ball over for Bowen, who was sent tumbling by goalscorer Guimaraes.
There were cries for a Hammers penalty, but there was nowhere near enough contact.
While they had shown a flash of attacking intent there, the Toon goal seemed to knock West Ham flat.
They are not going down but nor are they in the mix for anything exciting further up, meaning this could be a rather meandering end to the season.
Sitting 16th but also 16 points clear of trouble, Potter has the time to experiment and find out which players are worth keeping hold of in the summer.
Valuable time for a manager – not very exciting to watch if you are paying for a ticket.
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