West Ham stars guilty of coasting through another key game as Hammers continue to drift out of top-four battle

If West Ham are to fulfil David Moyes’s wishes and hang on in the race for the Champions League places, they must find a spark to jolt them back into life.

Boos greeted the final whistle after a frustrating afternoon for all at London Stadium.

While the Hammers continued to pick up points with this scrappy draw against relegation battling Newcastle, they are in need of something to continue their remarkable season.

Too many players look jaded and well off the levels that fans have come to expect from them and a solution does not seem forthcoming.

Moyes has called for someone to stand up and deliver a rocket but too many are coasting through games, lacking the energy to turn one point into three.

Newcastle arrived without the leadership of Kieran Trippier and the dynamism of Allan Saint-Maximin, the latter having caused West Ham so many problems in the past.

David Moyes had his own injury issues, with Vladimir Coufal and Manuel Lanzini not in the squad. Ryan Fredericks and Said Benrahma both came in.

Newcastle didn’t start like a side without their two best players, catching West Ham napping in the opening minutes as Joelinton saw an effort turned behind before Jacob Murphy and Joe Willock both had shots blocked.

Chris Wood found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time as he blocked Ryan Fraser’s attempt from Matt Targett’s cross, the Hammers struggling to get a grip on things.

It was an effort from their man of the moment that got West Ham fans engaged after 20 minutes, Jarrod Bowen latching onto a cushioned header from Ryan Fredericks before seeing his shot tipped onto the bar by Martin Dubravka.

In heavy rain and a dampened atmosphere, neither side were truly getting a hold of the game and it took another