Heartache as Cresswell red costs Hammers dearly
Red mist descends: West Ham United manager David Moyes is shown a red card by referee Jesus Gil Manzano during the second leg at the Deutsche Bank Park, Frankfurt.
The disappointment was too much for West Ham to bear in the end. Even David Moyes had lost control of his emotions by the time a demoralising night deep in the German forest was at an end.
Any thoughts of Moyes’s team mounting a heroic comeback had long since passed and, for all that it was impossible to fault West Ham’s effort, nothing summed up their lack of composure more than the sight of their manager being sent off for kicking the ball at a ballboy during the dying stages.
The pain was too raw. It was beautiful while it lasted but there will be no glorious ending in Seville later this month. For Moyes, who has never won a trophy as a manager, this stung. He knew that West Ham had blown their chance of reaching the Europa League final. They were not good enough in the first leg and their hopes of turning it around here were over after Aaron Cresswell’s foolhardy red card handed the initiative to Eintracht Frankfurt, who sealed a 3-1 win aggregate win thanks to Rafael Santos Borré’s goal.
Moyes had spoken about the need for West Ham to manage the game. There were also attempts at mind games from the Scot when he suggested that Frankfurt could struggle to protect their lead from the first leg. Yet this wonderfully atmospheric stadium was bouncing long before kick-off and given the noise generated by the home fans it was even possible to wonder if it was part of the show when a small fire broke out at the end housing Frankfurt’s ultras, until a few stewards rushed across to deal with the blaze seven minutes into the game.
It felt like it was going to be that kind of evening. By that stage Frankfurt had already lost their influential centre-back Martin Hinteregger after he injured a knee due to a challenge from Michail Antonio.
It seemed like a big blow for the hosts who rejigged their back three by bringing on Almamy Touré, and at that point the signs were good for West Ham, who enjoyed plenty of possession during the early stages and looked capable of creating chances.
Yet disaster was lurking. It was galling for Moyes to see one of his most experienced players gift Frankfurt the initiative with a 17th-minute challenge. West Ham could not afford any false moves and Cresswell had nobody but himself to blame when he failed to deal with a hopeful punt, the slightest hint of hesitation from the left-back enough to give Jens Petter Hauge a chance to steal possession and burst through on goal.
Cresswell was too slow to respond. Hauge was far more assertive. The Norwegian had made his mark and the only surprise was that JesĂşs Gil Manzano, the Spanish referee, initially reached for a yellow card when Cresswell dragged the Frankfurt forward down just outside the area.
Everybody could see it was a denial of a goalscoring opportunity from Cresswell, who had learned nothing from being sent off for the same offence against Lyon in the previous round. Frankfurt appealed for a red and the outcome was inevitable when Manzano was told to check the pitchside monitor: Cresswell was left to make a long, lonely trudge down the tunnel and although West Ham survived Filip Kostic slamming the resulting free-kick wide, it already seemed inconceivable that Frankfurt would not progress.
The numerical advantage soon told. West Ham adjusted after going down to 10 men, shoring up their defence by replacing Manuel Lanzini with Ben Johnson, but it was not enough. Frankfurt, who had only won once at home since Christmas, simply had too much space.
They kept the ball moving and were ahead after carving West Ham apart in the 26th minute, Ansgar Knauff surging past Johnson on the right and pulling the ball back for Borré to beat Alphonse Areola with a low finish.
At least West Ham continued to fight. Antonio threatened, almost running through before Evan Ndicka stepped in with a fine challenge. Hope flared. Another run from Antonio ended with Ndicka picking up a booking for a crude lunge on the striker and the equaliser almost arrived when a free-kick from Jarrod Bowen reached Kurt Zouma, who was unable to turn the ball over the line.
Yet West Ham did not have enough options in attack without Lanzini on the pitch. Pablo Fornals was rarely involved and Bowen saw little of the ball.
Frankfurt were comfortable. Their intensity made life awkward for West Ham and it summed up the pattern of play when Declan Rice tried to surge through midfield early in the second half, only to take a heavy touch and lose the ball as he tried to release it to Bowen.
It was not to be and the challenge now for West Ham is to ensure this is not the end. This is a good team that just needs a sprinkling of quality added to it. Summer will be pivotal. It is a chance to push on, to keep building around Rice, to ensure these occasions are not a one-off. For now, though, all there will be is pain.
Trapp, Tuta, Hinteregger (Toure 8), N'Dicka, Knauff, Sow, Rode (Jakic 76), Kostic, Hauge (Hrustic 82), Borre (Paciencia 83), Kamada.Â
Areola, Coufal (Yarmolenko 87), Dawson, Zouma, Cresswell, Soucek, Rice, Bowen, Lanzini (Johnson 22), Fornals (Benrahma 74), Antonio.Â
Jesus Gil Manzano (Don Benito).
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