5 Heroes & 4 Villains From Newcastle 2-1 West Ham

4. Ayoze Perez

https://twitter.com/BBCMOTD/status/688501084936126464?lang=en Newcastle's attacking intent from the off worked brilliantly. They shell shocked their opponents and the first twenty minutes at St. James' Park were among the most one-sided action you're likely to see here all season. Ayoze Perez was at the heart of it with the opening effort where, with more time he probably thought, he underhit a shot from a good position that Adrian was able to save. But not to be undone, Perez's second effort, a quick and instinctive shot from the edge of the area, curled round the post and rattled into the bottom corner, this time giving the Hammers keeper no chance and sending the Gallowgate into jubilation in the first five minutes. Newcastle's strange policy under Steve McClaren in recent months to kick-off facing the Gallowgate may vocally induce the moans and groans from that side of the ground, but if Newcastle's new intent is to start games this brightly, there in truth won't be much to complain about. After the two goals were scored, Perez wasn't the Newcastle man who received much service to score but he once again battled throughout the game to harass the opposition and seemingly perform miracles in areas without space to try and keep possession for his side. Without getting too religious, his ability to turn the footballing equivalent of water into wine on the field is breath-taking. He did naturally tire towards the end but he never ceases to give 100% for the cause. Thankfully, McClaren kept this little genius in his side despite the manager's probable temptation to sacrifice him for new man Henri Saivet after 7 games without a win and in doing so, Perez once again proved why he's probably the club's most instinctive finisher and should be one of the first names on the team-sheet.
Editor-in-chief
Editor-in-chief

Matt Holmes is the co-founder of What Culture, formerly known as Obsessed With Film. He has been blogging about pop culture and entertainment since 2006 and has written over 10,000 articles.