Newcastle United claimed a vital win in their fight for Premier League survival by beating West Ham 3-2 on Saturday afternoon.

Here are our Magpies player ratings from St James’ Park…

Starting XI:

Martin Dubravka: 6/10

Enjoyed a quiet first half with West Ham playing on the backfoot despite dominating much of the possession. Positioned well to keep out a Vladimir Coufal header midway through the second period and confidently commanded his box. Little more he could have done for either of the visitors’ goals.

Jacob Murphy: 7/10

Involved in a handful of promising attacking moves before the break, but failed to beat Lukasz Fabianski with an early effort and chose the wrong decision when a pass was on to Sean Longstaff. Could have sealed the game when Ben Johnson cleared off the line.

Federico Fernandez: 5/10

A couple of spicy moments with Jesse Lingard gave the visitors chances to get forward, and was caught ball-watching when Issa Diop stayed up top to head West Ham back into the game.

Ciaran Clark: 5/10

Never put a foot wrong in the first half as Newcastle weathered an almost relentless West Ham storm and ended the day with a game-high 10 clearances. But Left referee Kevin Friend with little choice but to point to the spot when he challenged Tomas Soucek in the air with his arm in a very unnatural position.

Paul Dummett: 5/10

Gave the ball away a handful of times in the first half and lost possession a joint-high 16 times for the home side. Misjudged the flight of the ball and gifted West Ham a free-kick in a dangerous position shortly after the interval but the visitors could not capitalise for a route back into the game. A poor day from Newcastle’s £3.6m-rated ace.

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Matt Ritchie: 7/10

A passionate player for the Magpies, calling for the ball and getting into promising positions at both ends of the field. Delivered a wonderful cross for Joe Willock to score the winner.

Miguel Almiron: 7/10

Plenty of drive from Newcastle’s Paraguayan playmaker to run at the West Ham defence in the first period. Kept pushing after the break and produced a clever through ball for Callum Wilson, but arguably should have scored before Willock headed home.

Jonjo Shelvey: 6/10

Had to play much of the game on a yellow card after a needless foul on Jarrod Bowen near to the halfway line after just a quarter of an hour as the West Ham winger drove across the field. Kept things tidy in the engine room and moved the ball nicely.

Sean Longstaff: 6/10

Produced a nice tackle to deny Lingard in the penalty area on the quarter-hour mark and saw one shot deflected wide in the first half. Eventually taken off for Willock, who made the difference from the bench.

Joelinton: 7/10

A very quiet start but was alive to Lukasz Fabianski dropping the ball inches from his line from a late first half corner to tap home, what was only Joelinton’s fifth Premier League goal in 64 games. Needed better quality with his delivery to find Wilson unmarked in the box after the summer signing’s introduction.

Allan Saint-Maximin: 8/10

A real positive presence in attack for Newcastle on his return to the starting line-up for the first time in six games after a groin injury, and saw his shot open the scoring after driving at the West Ham backline. Taken off just after the hour mark having taken a few knocks which Steve Bruce will hope are nothing serious.

Substitutes:

Callum Wilson: 6/10 (on 64th min)

Clearly not 100% match fit following seven games out with a hamstring injury but held the ball up well following his introduction and saw a late shot blocked.

Joe Willock: N/A (on 81st min)

Made an immediate impact from the bench after replacing Longstaff to head home minutes after West Ham drew level from the spot.

Andy Carroll: N/A (on 90+7)

Unused subs: Mark Gillespie (GK), Jamal Lewis, Emil Krafth, Javier Manquillo, Jeff Hendrick, Dwight Gayle

AND in other news, Newcastle undecided on St. James’ future of £25,000-per-week star Steve Bruce wants to keep…