What West Ham crowd did spoke volumes as Newcastle United stars get angry - 5 things

Newcastle United have moved up to sixth place following a 1-0 win against West Ham at the London Stadium.

Bruno Guimaraes scored the only goal of the game midway through the second half after getting on the end of Harvey Barnes' lofted cross.

Here are five things we learned from the game.

Harvey Barnes and Bruno Guimaraes step up

December 7. That was the last time that Harvey Barnes started a league game for Newcastle - let alone in his favoured position out on the left-hand side.

What an opportunity this was for Barnes to stake his claim in the suspended Anthony Gordon's absence ahead of the Carabao Cup final. The winger had been 'frustrated' at his lack of opportunities, but Eddie Howe reiterated before the game that the forward was 'someone we really believe in'.

Barnes certainly looked eager to impress. There were just 17 minutes on the clock when Bruno Guimaraes' clever through ball slipped him in, but the forward got it all wrong from a tight angle and failed to hit the target. Barnes went on to test Alphonse Areola a couple of minutes later, after getting a touch on Kieran Trippier's drilled effort across, before seeing a header pushed away by the West Ham goalkeeper midway through the first half following a well-worked corner.

However, Barnes did not give up and his perseverance paid off after the hour mark. After cutting inside on to his favoured right foot and seeing a shot blocked by Jean-Clair Todibo, the attacker calmly took a touch and clipped the ball towards the back post. There was Guimaraes to meet it on the volley to break the deadlock.

Newcastle find way to win as West Ham fans head for early exit

Forget Sunday's trip to Wembley - this was a crucial fixture in the capital in its own right. Newcastle, after all, had slipped to ninth in the table before the game and the Magpies needed to rediscover some precious momentum following three defeats in four matches.

There was certainly no chance of Eddie Howe resting players. The Newcastle boss simply could not afford to. "It's a huge game for us and I think that can't be lost," Howe said. "We can't get distracted, we can't lose the focus on the Premier League."

However, a curiously flat first-half from both sides was not exactly a glowing advertisement for Monday Night Football. In fact, tensions only threatened to spill over before the break when Edson Alvarez exchanged some strong words with Bruno Guimaraes. Alvarez shoulder-barged Bruno to the floor as he ran past, which led to angry Newcastle players rushing on to the scene to give the West Ham midfielder a piece of their mind.

Newcastle did not get frustrated, though, and the Magpies ultimately found a way to win on the road without being at their vintage best to claim a crucial three points. There is a lot to be said for that.

Newcastle, as a result, moved level on points with champions Manchester City in the race for the Champions League spots. No wonder the away end repeatedly boomed: "E-I-E-I-E-I-O - Up the Premier League we go!"

In contrast, even though six minutes of stoppage time were added on, it spoke volumes that a number of West Ham fans had headed for an early exit by then. They knew their fate.

Lewis Hall's absence felt

Tino Livramento has played at left-back on the biggest stage of all for Newcastle, against PSG no less, so it was hardly a surprise that the England international once again filled in after Lewis Hall was ruled out for the rest of the season. Livramento certainly saw a lot of the ball against West Ham - no other Newcastle player had more touches in the first half - and the defender did not shirk responsibility.

However, it is clear that Newcastle are still adapting. The right-footer naturally cut onto his stronger foot rather than swinging the ball into the box, on a number of occasions, while Harvey Barnes rarely made the run beyond the defender on the overlap to give him another option. It was striking that when Livramento managed to hit a cross first time, in the 19th minute, the full-back created one of Newcastle's best chances of the first half when Kieran Trippier drilled the ball back across and Harvey Barnes got a touch, which Alphonse Areola parried away.

The left-side has been a source of such creativity for Newcastle and this was a reminder that as important as Hall is defensively, going forward, the injured left-back is crucial to how this side function, too. In fact, when ranked against other left-backs in the top-flight, Hall comes out in third for assists and successful crosses, fourth for chances created and fifth for passes into the box.

A timely clean sheet

This side at their best are miserly. Think back to Newcastle's nine-game winning run. There were clean sheets against Leicester City, Ipswich Town, Aston Villa, Manchester United, Arsenal and Wolves along the way. When the Magpies did concede during that victorious streak, it was only the odd goal.

Leaky Newcastle desperately needed to rediscover that mentality to defend their goal at all costs, especially ahead of the Carabao Cup final, and Eddie Howe made a big call after restoring Nick Pope to his starting line-up in the latest twist in the goalkeeper's battle with Martin Dubravka.

Yet it was those lining up in front of Pope who made a shaky start; the game had just got under way when Fabian Schar was beaten down the line by Mohammed Kudus and Tino Livrameno could only kick the air as he attempted to deal with the West Ham star's cross. Luckily, for Newcastle, Tomas Soucek ended up firing over.

Then, just a few minutes later, Jarrod Bowen skipped away from Joelinton down the right and swung a cross into the box. This time, Dan Burn missed it with a swing of his boot and the ball bounced off Edson Alvarez and over the bar.

Yet Newcastle held firm. Although Pope made a couple of shaky clearances, the goalkeeper did not ultimately have much to do and comfortably saved efforts from Bowen and Kudus in the first half. This was the veteran's first clean sheet since November and it was a timely shutout ahead of facing Mohamed Salah and Liverpool at the weekend.

Alexander Isak preserved

Regardless of the opponent, the venue or how much possession Newcastle do or do not have, the Magpies will always have a chance with Alexander Isak in the side. This is a man who has scored 40% of Newcastle's Premier League goals this season, the highest proportion in the top-flight, and even unnerved the usually assured Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk, who won't exactly relish facing the striker again on Sunday.

Isak may not have got on the score sheet at West Ham but after coming off with 'tightness in his body' against Brighton last week, the Sweden international did not look to be in any discomfort after being replaced by Callum Wilson late on.