David Moyes admits his decision to bring Kalvin Phillips on against Newcastle ‘did not work’

• Kalvin Phillips was brought on as a substitute in West Ham’s defeat to Newcastle
• Man City loanee conceded a penalty as his difficult spell with the Irons continues
• Chris Sutton: Romelu Lukaku is to blame for his Chelsea failings – Listen to It’s All Kicking Off 

David Moyes admits his decision to bring on Kalvin Phillips with West Ham leading 3-1 at Newcastle ‘did not work’, but he refused to criticise the substitute following the 4-3 defeat.

There were 21 minutes to play when the Manchester City loanee replaced Michail Antonio. He conceded a penalty for a foul on Anthony Gordon in the 77th minute – from which Alexander Isak scored – and was turned by Harvey Barnes for the goal that brought the home side’s victory in the 90th minute.

Moyes sought to explain his change afterwards.

‘I actually thought at that time when we went 3-1 up, Newcastle were there better team and still were,’ he began. ‘I thought an extra midfield player would give us more control in the middle of the pitch. Obviously, it didn’t work.

‘We needed a defensive structure that could be steady and see themselves through. We tried to find it by the change (Phillips on). We tried to find something that would give us more structure and a bit more organisation.

‘But I have to say, before the penalty kick, Newcastle missed two big chances in the middle of the goal, so that was the reason we made the change, not because we were thinking we were winning 3-1. They had missed big chances and I was trying to make sure we weren’t going to lose and make the change in a positive fashion. We tried to make it at that time, and obviously it didn’t work out.

‘But I’m not going to say anything about any player. I wouldn’t do that, it would be wrong.’

Meanwhile, Eddie Howe hailed the impact of his own substitute, with Barnes scoring the equaliser for 3-3 before his late winner.

‘Harvey deserves that,’ he said of a player who has missed the bulk of the season because of injury. ‘The thing with Harvey is that he’s a goalscorer. You look at his statistics and his record, and it’s incredible really for a wide player.

‘He’s just been struck by injuries, and he’s had a difficult start to his Newcastle career. But the quality is undoubtedly there, and I thought the two finishes today were typical Harvey. 

‘It wasn’t easy to score the first one – although it was a one-on-one, he had a really small part of the goal to aim at and took it brilliantly. Then the second one, I hope it will live on for a long time because at 3-3, the ball drops to him on his right foot, but he still has so much to do. It’s a great goal.’

Howe added: ‘I hope the win gives us renewed confidence and hope, and a real positive lift. I don’t like to think back too much, but at that moment when we’re 3-1 down, that would have been a difficult afternoon to take, especially when we have the 10 games that we’ve talked about internally in terms of wanting to do well in those matches.

‘We feel we still have an opportunity to make something of our season. It would have been difficult to do that from that position, so hopefully it gives everybody a lift, not just us, but externally as well. I thought the crowd were magnificent for us at 3-1. They stayed with us, and I think they carried us over the line at the end.’