Joe Willock denies West Ham and boosts Newcastle’s survival hopes

Newcastle’s steady climb towards safety was enhanced after Joe Willock’s equaliser earned a draw at West Ham to extend their unbeaten run in the league to six games.

The hosts were fortunate to take the lead through Craig Dawson’s header but an instinctive finish from Willock was another step in the right direction for Newcastle under Eddie Howe.

Failure to beat Watford in January seemed to be a major blow to Newcastle’s hopes of avoiding relegation, but 10 points from the last four matches have eased their supporters’ fears and lifted them out of the bottom three.

West Ham’s inability to hold on to their lead prevented them from climbing back into fourth and underlined the nagging feeling that the club’s lack of squad depth will prove costly in their quest for Champions League football. Kurt Zouma returned to the starting lineup after sickness ruled him out of the draw at Leicester, with the defender the subject of derision from the Newcastle fans for his inexplicable social media video of him abusing his pet cats.

Newcastle’s hopes of a fourth successive league win were hampered by the loss of Kieran Trippier after the defender fractured his foot against Aston Villa, as well as the flair and pace of Allan Saint-Maximin, who is sidelined with a calf injury.

The visitors were also forced to travel down by road rather than plane on Friday due to the impact of Storm Eunice, but there was no sign of any fatigue from their players. Howe’s team made an explosive start which almost resulted in a third-minute opener but the goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski blocked Joelinton’s shot from an acute angle.

Willock went close with a shot deflected over the crossbar with West Ham floundering sheepishly during the early exchanges.

But West