Fornals strikes late on as West Ham secure safe passage into Europa Conference League final
WRAPPING IT UP: West Ham's Pablo Fornals celebrates. Pic: AP Photo/Peter Dejong
A year after they suffered the agony of falling short in the Europa League semi-finals, West Ham went one better to secure a place in the Europa Conference League final and move one step closer towards winning a first major trophy since 1980.
David Moyes and his players had been left crushed by last season’s second leg defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt. They drew a line under that disappointment though by standing firm against AZ Alkmaar to protect the lead 2-1 advantage they had established in the first leg a week previously before Pablo Fornals capped the performance with a superbly taken breakaway goal in the third minute of added time.
The touchline celebrations of manager Moyes after Fornals’ goal spoke volumes. After a season dominated by the battle to avoid relegation from the Premier League, Moyes’s side now have the chance to claim the club’s first European trophy since Bobby Moore lifted the 1965 European Cup Winners’ Cup.
There were disturbing scenes as some home supporters reacted angrily at the final whistle, but that couldn’t detract from West Ham’s moment.
The first leg comeback had inevitably strengthened West Ham’s belief but AZ’s home record served as a reminder the tie was far from over. The Eredivisie side came into this game having won all eight of their home games in this competition and boasting an unbeaten home record in European competition that extended to 25 games.
The Dutch side had dominated possession for long periods in the first leg but they were initially more direct as they attempted to work their way back onto level terms. For their part, Moyes’s side remained resolute and looked capable of troubling the home side whenever they were staged a counter-attack.
Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek provided the platform in midfield with Rice in particular driving the visitors forward when to launch a number of breaks while Michail Antonio provided an effective focal point up front. And the forward used his strength to great effect to release Lucas Paqueta who came closest to scoring for the Hammers during the first half when his curling left-foot shot struck the post.
It seemed West Ham had effectively stifled the home side but AZ’s response in the final five minutes of the opening half ensured there as no risk of complacency creeping into the visitors’ play. The Dutch side stepped up the pressure and it took a number of well-timed tackles and blocks to protect the aggregate lead at the interval.
While West Ham couldn’t claim to be in control of the game they had kept the home side at arm’s length effectively. The was noticeably more urgency on the part of AZ after the restart however and they served a warning to Moyes’s side when Kerkez sent a low ball across the face of goal that might easily have led to a goal.
Rice responded with a curling shot that was well saved by AZ’s former Brighton keeper Mat Ryan but it was the Dutch side that looked increasingly dangerous with West Ham appearing increasingly vulnerable.
A routine ball behind the Hammers defence sent Vangelis Pavlidis clear and there was a nervous moment for West Ham when the AZ striker went down under a clumsy challenge from Nayef Aguerd. And the forward continued to demonstrate he had the knack of evading the attentions of Aguerd and Kurt Zouma.
There were signs of growing tension among Moyes’s side when keeper Alphonse Areola was forced to react quickly to hack clear Thilo Kehrer’s misdirected back pass. And Aguerd showed a similar lack of composure at the other end when he spurned a chance to wrap up the tie.
Ryan 6; Sugawara 6, Beukema 6, Hatzidiakos 6, Kerkez 7 (De Wit 85, 6); Reijnders 8, Mijnans 6 (De Wit, 70, 6), Clasie 7; Van Brederode 6 (Lahdo 77, 6), Pavlidis 7, Karlsson 7 (Meerdink 85, 6).
Verhulst, Deen, Mihailovic, Bazoer, Vanheusden, Buurmeester, Goes.
Areola 7; Kehrer 7, Aguerd 6, Zouma 7, Cresswell 6; Soucek 6, Rice 8, Paqueta 7; Bowen 6, Antonio 7 (Ings 84, 6), Benrahma 6 (Fornals 75, 6).
Fabianski, Anang, Johnson, Coufal, Lanzini, Downes, Cornet, Ogbonna, Emerson, Mubama.
Ivan Kruzliak (Slovakia) 6
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