West Ham captain Mark Noble has praised youngster Declan Rice despite the Irishman’s mistake at the weekend which led to Newcastle’s opening goal.
The 18-year-old was robbed of possession in a dangerous area in his own half in the 36th minute at St James’ Park, with the Magpies subsequently breaking quickly and leaving Joselu to slide the ball into a near empty net to give the hosts a 1-0 advantage going into the break.
“Declan is an 18-year-old kid, a fantastic footballer and if I’m honest, [the mistake] will probably do him good,” said Noble on whufc.com.
“He will realise that the game isn’t all rosy and when you come on at Old Trafford and play in the cup at Cheltenham and do well, it’s not always as easy [as that].”
The Republic of Ireland U23 international has been heavily praised for his performances so far this season after breaking into the first team at the London Stadium in pre-season, however his mistake at the weekend will likely serve as a reality check to the truths of the Premier League football.
Newcastle went on the emerge as 3-0 victors thanks for second half goals from Ciaran Clark and Alexandr Mitrovic, and the defeats leaves West Ham rock bottom of the Premier League table with no points from their opening three games.
Noble continued: “We’ve all made mistakes, we’ve all done it, but I know Declan is a top player and he won’t let that mistake bother him at all.”
