Author – Amrit Santlani
West Ham United beat AZ Alkmaar 1-0 in the second leg of the UEFA Conference League semi-final to reach their first major European final since 1976. Pablo Fornals scored a late goal to seal a narrow victory as the Hammers progressed to the summit clash 3-1 on aggregate, having won the first leg at the London Stadium 2-1 last week.
Said Benrahma scored a penalty, while Michail Antonio’s goal allowed David Moyes’ side to complete a remarkable comeback after Tijani Reijnders opened the scoring. However, the second leg was much more monotonous, with West Ham sitting deep to withstand the pressure at the AFAS Stadium.
Fornals scored on a counter-attack at the end of the game to confirm the team’s progress towards a historic continental title.
West Ham will face Fiorentina in the summit clash in Prague on June 7 and the Serie A club will face Basel in the other semi-final.
As well as the action on the pitch, there were some unpleasant scenes off it, when a section of Alkmaar supporters attacked the area where friends and family of Hammers players were sitting inside the stadium.
The last time West Ham won a major title was in 1980, when they lifted the FA Cup, although they did win the Intertoto Cup in 1999. The last time they played in a European final was in the 1975-76 Cup Winners’ Cup, when they lost 4-2 to Anderlecht.
“We’re top and we’re also in a final with the chance of winning a trophy, so there are a lot of positives,” said Moyes after the narrow victory.
“Reaching a final is something that doesn’t happen in many coaches’ lives. I’m very happy to have reached one or two, but this is my first European final and I’m very happy with that” he added.
Brazilian midfielder Lucas Paquetá shone for the Hammers and even hit the post in the first half in a brilliant display.