In an otherwise cagey opening, VAR took a reasonably long look at a potential handball in the box by Tomáš Souček, which would have been doubly controversial after the technology sided against West Ham last time out versus Arsenal.
Despite surviving that appeal, Nuno Espírito Santo’s side were behind before the quarter-hour mark, as Nick Woltemade steered in a Harvey Barnes cross for his first goal since before Christmas.
Five minutes later, things went from bad to worse for the visitors. The game’s second goal was all about the quality of the Magpies, who sliced through the visitors before William Osula supplied the finish.
Espírito Santo had soon seen enough, ditching his back three and bringing on Taty Castellanos to partner Callum Wilson, and the Argentine forward was the first to test Nick Pope.
Despite a marked improvement, the Irons still trailed by two at the break and continued to lack a cutting edge after the restart. Tempers rose, and Souček was once again lucky to avoid a VAR intervention after appearing to kick out at an opponent.
That reprieve was short-lived again, though, as another cheap turnover set Osula on his way for his second of the contest.
That left West Ham needing something special, and Castellanos certainly did his part, receiving a long ball from goalkeeper Mads Hermansen and hooking it over Pope from well outside the area to restore a faint glimmer of hope.
So often his team’s talisman, Jarrod Bowen had a good chance to cut the lead to one, but his effort was saved, before Castellanos slammed an effort against the woodwork. Newcastle are the league’s most porous team in the final 15 minutes of games, but held on to inflict a damaging defeat on the away team.
Tottenham Hotspur can now condemn the Hammers to the Championship with a win at Chelsea on Tuesday, and a draw would be enough in practice due to a vastly superior goal difference.
Should they fail to survive, they will have the highest points total for a relegated side in a decade, since none other than Newcastle faced the drop with a tally of 37 in 2015/16.
Eddie Howe’s men, meanwhile, extend their unbeaten run to three games, yet still require an unlikely turn of events to sneak back into the European places on the final day.
Flashscore Man of the Match: William Osula (Newcastle United)