Newcastle United slipped to their tenth draw of the season at home to West Ham United on Saturday evening, with Lucas Paqueta’s second-half effort cancelling out Callum Wilson’s early strike to secure a hard-earned point for the visitors.

Amid the euphoria of sealing a place at Wembley earlier this week in the Carabao Cup, Magpies boss Eddie Howe may well be concerned that his side have now been held to a stalemate in four of their last five Premier League games, albeit with their place in the top-four still somewhat secure.

The Tynesiders had initially appeared on course for victory amid what was a frantic start to proceedings at St James’ Park, with the aforementioned Wilson netting inside three minutes with a clinical left-footed finish, after Joe Willock had seen an earlier effort ruled out by VAR.

That composed strike was the Englishman’s tenth goal against the Hammers in his career to date – and his first goal in the league since returning from World Cup duty – although the 30-year-old was unable to add to that tally as the game progressed, having seen his involvement limited from then.

The former Bournemouth hotshot made just 20 touches in total on the night – fewer than teammate Nick Pope (22) in the sticks – while he was also rather ineffective physically up against the away side’s backline, having failed to win any of his eight duels.

In truth, it was teammate Dan Burn who arguably proved superior for Howe’s side against the Hammers, with the 6 foot 7 colossus having been a typically rock-solid presence at left-back up against Jarrod Bowen.

The former Brighton and Hove Albion man hardly put a foot wrong, albeit while having lost possession on 21 occasions, after notably racking up seven clearances in total against David Moyes’ men,

Unlike Wilson, the 30-year-old also proved himself something of a physical monster after remarkably winning ten of his 13 duels, including eight of his 11 aerial duels to help keep the east London outfit at bay, while also laying on one key pass from his 90 touches as a marker of his attacking quality.

That dominant display ensured that the Blyth-born sensation recorded a solid 7.3 match rating, as per Sofascore, with that having been far higher than that man Wilson, who received just a 6.7 match rating despite getting himself on the scoresheet.

As such, just over a year on from his return to the northeast, Burn once again proved himself something of a hero for the high-flying outfit.