West Ham were held to a 2-2 draw by Newcastle United in their Premier League clash on Saturday as both the teams struggled to stamp their authority on the tie.

Newcastle went into the match on the back of two straight defeats while West Ham had won their last two matches. Both the sides were on the attack right from the start with little regards to defensive solidity.

Michael Owen had the first real chance in the first half when he superbly controlled a pass from Jonas Gutierrez and though he managed to beat Robert Green, his shot struck the post before rolling to safety. However it was not long before Newcastle and Owen were celebrating with the England striker easily shrugging off the challenge from James Collins before slotting the ball past Green to put his side in front by the 19th minute.

West Ham recovered from the blow to slowly assume control of the game and were back on level terms 10 minutes later when Craig Bellamy was released by a superb pass from Scott Parker and the Wales captain easily lifted the ball over Shay Given to score the equalizer.

Carlton Cole put West Ham in the lead 10 minutes into the second half when he raced forward to meet Herita Ilunga's through ball before smashing it past Given in the 55th minute.

Andy Carroll finally equalized for the hosts 12 minutes from time when he rose high to head home Duff's cross from close range to score his first goal for the club.