By Anthony Marshall - Newcastle United Managing Editor
At St. James' Park
Newcastle United 2 (Perez 6, WIjnaldum 15)
West Ham United 1 (Jelavic 49)
Newcastle United climbed out of the Barclays Premier League relegation zone following a 2-1 home victory over West Ham United on Saturday.
Early goals from Ayoze Perez and leading scorer Georginio Wijnaldum put the Magpies in control at St. James' Park, and although Nikica Jelavic halved the deficit early in the second half, they held firm for three crucial points.
United dominated the first period and Perez got the ball rolling with just six minutes on the clock, firing home a first-time effort from distance after neat interplay between outstanding debutant Jonjo Shelvey and Wijnaldum.
And it wasn't long before the lead was doubled, this time Shelvey linking with Daryl Janmaat to allow Wijnaldum to sweep in his ninth goal of an impressive first campaign on Tyneside.
Newcastle could have been out of sight by half-time as Aleksandar Mitrovic and Moussa Sissoko both saw chances come and go, and the visitors got a foothold back in the contest early in the second period when Jelavic seized on Chancel Mbemba's back-pass to sidefoot home.
But the Magpies weathered a significant second-half storm to secure a first victory of 2016, and will look to build on that as they travel to Watford next weekend.
Shelvey was handed his debut at St. James' Park and, inside the first minute, laid the foundations for the hosts' first attack of the afternoon.
Receiving the ball in the middle of the park, the 23-year-old waited for the right option, spraying the ball out to full-back Daryl Janmaat. The subsequent pass forward was intelligently chested by Aleksandar Mitrovic into the path of Moussa Sissoko, but the Frenchman's cross was blocked.
The Magpies had roared out of the traps and broke the deadlock in the sixth minute - with Shelvey right at the heart of it.
There didn't seem too much on when the new signing picked up the ball in the middle of the park, but he found the feet of Wijnaldum on the edge of the area with a clever pass.
The Dutchman laid back into the path of Perez, who applied an outstanding, placed finish beyond the despairing dive of Adrian at the Gallowgate End.
Newcastle were flying and Mitrovic threatened to double their advantage immediately, sending a rising, angled drive narrowly over the bar from 20 yards.
But they didn't have to wait too long to do just that as, on 15 minutes, Wijnaldum netted his ninth goal of the campaign.
Unsurprisingly, it stemmed from Shelvey, who picked up the ball inside his own half and drilled an audacious - and inch-perfect - diagonal ball into the path of Janmaat.
The right-back's touch was exceptional, taking him away from Aaron Cresswell, before drilling a low cross through the six-yard box which Wijnaldum swept home.
Not content with two, Newcastle continued to press for more, and Paul Dummett and Sissoko both saw efforts scrambled to safety by the Hammers' defence.
At the other end, it took West Ham 43 minutes to finally test Rob Elliot but the Republic of Ireland international stood up well to beat away Cheikhou Koyate's first-time effort, having been played in by Pedro Obiang.
The visitors introduced Jelavic at half-time and the switch paid dividends immediately as the Croatian striker pounced upon Mbemba's sloppy back-pass to round Elliot and slot home from a difficult angle.
Henri Saivet stepped off the substitutes' bench just before the hour mark to make his Newcastle debut, minutes before Wijnaldum threatened his second of the afternoon with a dipping strike the wasn't too far the wrong side of the upright.
Mitrovic was next to try his luck, teed up by Wijnaldum but seeing his fierce drive tipped over to safety by Adrian.
The visitors then had a spell of dominance where the Magpies were struggling to get out of their own half. However, within that, they failed to ever seriously bring Elliot into action, and it was in fact the home side who came closest to scoring.
Breaking at pace, Shelvey slipped in Mitrovic who worked the ball back onto his right foot but was unable to find a way past Adrian. Shelvey then had a go himself, pulling the trigger from 30 yards but sending his shot straight into the Spanish goalkeeper's midriff.
With time ticking away, West Ham piled on further heavy pressure. Elliot made a brilliant save with his legs to keep out Kouyate's downward header, before Jelavic blazed over the top from the edge of the area.
But the hosts stood firm to record an important - and morale-boosting - win.
Newcastle United (4-2-3-1): Rob Elliot; Daryl Janmaat, Chancel Mbemba, Fabricio Coloccini (c), Paul Dummett (Henri Saivet 57); Jonjo Shelvey, Jack Colback; Moussa Sissoko, Georginio Wijnaldum, Ayoze Perez (Yoan Gouffran 80); Aleksandar Mitrovic (Jamaal Lascelles 90)
Subs not used: Karl Darlow, Rolando Aarons, Emmanuel Riviere, Ivan Toney
West Ham United (4-2-3-1): Adrian; James Tomkins (Carl Jenkinson 75), James Collins, Angelo Ogbonna, Aaron Cresswell; Pedro Obiang (Nikica Jelavic 46), Mark Noble (c); Michail Antonio (Victor Moses 70), Cheikhou Kouyate, Dimitri Payet; Enner Valencia
Subs not used: Darren Randolph, Winston Reid, Alex Song, Josh Cullen
Referee: Neil Swarbrick (Lancashire)
Bookings: Newcastle United - none; West Ham United - none
Attendance: 50,031
