Conference LeagueWest Ham United 4-1 Gent
Thursday, 20th April 2023
by Chris Wilkerson
It's another European semi-final for David Moyes's West Ham as his side came back from a goal down to beat Gent 4-1 at the London Stadium, progressing with a 5-2 aggregate victory.
The Belgians started as the better side and continued their momentum from a week earlier, but were eventually brushed aside as The Hammers got a hold of the game and put their visitors to the sword.It sets up a Europa Conference League semi-final with Dutch side AZ Alkmaar, who recovered a 2-0 first-leg deficit to another Belgian side Anderlecht and eventually won the tie in a penalty shootout.
West Ham went with what you'd call the first team for this one, with Areola, Emerson and Aguerd the changes from the weekend's comeback draw against Arsenal.
Unlike most games this season, Moyes's side started with intensity and the game was an entertaining one from the get-go. It was sharp passing and a desire to get at Gent right from the off.
It made for a fun game as Gent always look eager to get the ball down and play attacking football. The movement of Orban and Cuypers had caused trouble last week in Belgium, and it was no different here.
Neither team was willing to sit and let this game unfold, choosing to try and take hold of it rather than wait and see how it was going to play.
Whilst Bowen could have had a chance with a better touch after a smart Paquet?? pass, it was the visitors who had the first real opportunity, and really should have scored.
There was yet to be 10 minutes on the clock when Kums found plenty of space on the right to clip in a cross. It was perfect, curled just behind the two centre backs and into the space between them and the goalkeeper.
Both Cuypers and Orban timed their movement to meet the ball, but the Nigerian striker missed his header, making no contact at all, and putting off Cuypers behind him in the process. On the edge of the six-yard box, either should have been able to score.
It was the kind of chance Arsenal had been given too easily on Sunday, which is a worry. It was frustrating but almost expected against Arsenal, such is the intricacy of what they can do. But whilst Gent have proven themselves a good side to watch over these two legs, West Ham cannot be gifting easy chances to every team they play.
The good news is that it didn't force West Ham into a period of fear and anxiety in defence. Whether it's confidence gained from recent results or a more proactive game plan, The Hammers were not flustered by the chance and made their own soon after, a Coufal cross headed over by Zouma, the defender jumping a little too early and meeting the ball as he started his descent.
The intensity dropped as Gent started to find space to expose on the counter, and West Ham seemed to respond by just slowing themselves down a bit.
It may have been that they became a touch too calm, and it certainly seemed that way when Paquet?? played carelessly in his own half and gifted Gent a lead.
Having failed to find a pass when he first looked up, the Brazilian lazily squared in his own half, but played far too loosely. It was weak, short and quickly intercepted by Hong.
The ball poked forward to Orban, who quickly ran forwars and into the area. As he moved a little wide of the goal, the Nigerian squeezed a reverse-pass between the two defenders, hoping to find Cuypers.
The pass was behind his target, but rolled loose to Samoise, the right wing back. His shot was scuffed and heading wide of goal, but bounced straight to Cuypers, who now stood six yards from goal as Aguerd made his way back onto the line.
Cuypers flicked it at goal, hitting Aguerd on the line, but the Moroccan could only deflect it into his own net. Gent had the lead with just over 25 minutes played.
Now West Ham looked unsettled, and Gent were popping one-touch passes about to make inroads through midfield.
But some of the old resolve that got this side into Europe and into a semi-final last season is still ingrained in this side, and recent weeks have seen it showing more and more.
There have been times this season where one goal could well have been followed by a second, but The Hammers gathered themselves once more.
They got back onto the front foot thanks to some ambition by Emerson, making a forward run down the left and receiving in the area. His shot forced a full-stretch save, West Ham's first shot on target of the night coming just after half hour.
It forced a corner, and forced pressure. The expectation rose and so did the noise level as West Ham started to put set pieces together and threaten Gent.
It was in this five-minute spell of pressure that West Ham got back into the game.
Coufal won a freekick down the right side after his cross was blocked by a flailing arm. Bowen went over and did what you'd ask for, curled the ball just over the wall and then flat at goal.
He landed it right on Antonio's head, the striker more than strong enough to hold his ground and head it at the near post from six yards out. 10 minutes after going behind, West Ham were back on level terms and had all the momentum behind them.
There was a late appeal for a penalty as Benrahma headed against Samoise arm in the box, but West Ham had to wait until the second half to be given a hand by VAR.
The 1-1 scoreline was a fair reflection of the first half, although it could easily be argued that Gent had been the better team in the three quarters of this tie that had gone so far.
It set up quite the final 45, with both teams surely feeling confident that they could go out and win this tie, whether extra-time was to be needed or not.
The Hammers should have taken the lead inside five minutes of the restart, but very little fortune is shining on the man who the chance fell to.
It came from good work by Bowen, latching onto a loose ball in the box after Paquet?? had ambitiously tried to flick it over his marker's head.
Moving away from goal and with very little options, Bowen managed to squeeze it back between two defenders and towards Paquet?? and Soucek.
It rolled too far from the Brazilian, but the Czech midfielder was latching onto it as it cruelly rolled away from him. Close to goal and with the goalkeeper scrambling across, all Tomas needed to do was hit the target.
Instead, his desperate lunge at the ball saw him connect too well, smashing off the bar from close range.
It was cleared wide, and the corner was cleared too, but Rice returned it to the box and when it came down, Benrahma flicked it to the right for Bowen, who forced a good save.
That corner was cleared, and this time it ended up with Coufal crossing and Okumu making an absolute mess of his defending, losing the flight of the ball and stumbling down into it, the ball ricocheting off his thigh, onto his outstretched arm and then bundled to Antonio.
The appeals went up, all of which would have been quickly ignored had Antonio's snapshot on that loose ball not hit the post.
Play continued, but a minute later when the ball finally went out of play, the referee held a finger to his ear and was soon sent over to the VAR screen.
A quick review of the incident saw him point to the spot, Okumu unlucky to be called for handball, but not saved by the deflection as he had caused it all with his own movement, under no pressure.
This time, it was Paquet?? who stepped up - much to the dissatisfaction of his manager - instead of Benrahma. He danced, shimmied and skipped his way up to the ball before clipping it into the top corner and giving West Ham the lead with 10 minutes of the second half played.
It opened the floodgates. Finally, this side was going to put an opponent to the sword and make hay whilst the sun was shining.
Barely had they finished celebrating, the lead was extended.
Centre back Piatkowski dawdled on the ball 10 yards from the West Ham box and allowed Rice an avenue to steal the ball. He dispossessed the Gent defender and Paquet?? took on the loose ball.
He was stopped by the defender, but Rice immediately took on the ball, 10 yards inside his own half, and went off on one of those runs.
It was controlled, the midfielder short of full pace as he summed up his options whilst carrying the ball forward. As Antonio made a run to open the space up further, Rice finally stepped on the gas, burst past his man and into the area.
On the left side, he shifted the ball onto his weaker foot and drove it low across goal and into the bottom corner. With half hour to go, the lead was two goals and the London Stadium was in raptures.
And they were soon to be spoiled. Gent had gone to pieces and having done a very good job of limiting West Ham's chances for two hours, the pressure of chasing the game seemed to banish any defensive resilience.
It was Antonio who got the fourth, his second, with far too much ease. Paquet?? played it wide to the striker and Antonio, shadowed by Benrahma, took the ball down the left, cut inside to the penalty area and then smashed across goal to the far corner, the goalkeeper getting a weak hand on the ball that could only push it into the back of the net and truly end the contest. In the space of eight minutes, the tie had gone from in the balance to finished.
It was enough of a lead to even allow Moyes to relax - as much as he can, anyway - as he withdrew Zouma, Rice and Antonio to rest with 20 minutes remaining
It could have been even better, as Bowen soon had the ball in the back of the net, only for the officials to spot a handball in the build-up.
Bowen strived to get the goal his performance deserved, missing another chance after doing fantastically on the byline, before cutting back onto his left and shooting straight at the goalkeeper.
Soon he was replaced, too, with both Benrahma and Bowen given a break for the final 10 minutes. The crowd were carried to the end by some exhibition football, the ol?(C)s ringing out on plenty of occasions, especially as Paquet?? danced with the ball and brought out the flicks and tricks.
There was one final chance for Corner after smart work by Fornals, but the Ivorian tried to be too clever and let a great opportunity pass him by.
It mattered not. There was drama in every other tie, Basel winning in extra-time, AZ winning on penalties and Fiorentina rescuing their position after going 3-0 behind at home to Lech Poznan before recovering to a 3-2 defeat and a 6-4 aggregate win. But not for West Ham, who suddenly showed their supremacy and never looked back once they had.
The manager said after the game that this is the time of year that good teams come to the boil. It's not exactly something that stands out as a West Ham tradition, normally The Hammers need to have been in form for a lot longer to be involved like this later in the season, but it could well be that this side is sorting itself out at just the right time.
There's five league games before the first leg tie at home to AZ Alkmaar, and chances of success will be greatly increased if the relegation situation is put to bed.
You've got two days to enjoy this, and then the real world comes back into view. Newcastle aside, momentum is building. A season that's felt hopeless now ends with the highest of stakes.
Manager's Rating
David Moyes 8/10: Went strong and it paid off, not only because it was clearly needed, but the game got put to bed and the manager could make changes. A rare easy finish to a game.
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Click to view all West Ham United vs Gent match reports Click to view all match reports by Chris Wilkerson Like to share your thoughts on this article? Please visit the KUMB Forum to leave a comment.Player Ratings
Alphonse AreolaCan't really blame him for the goal, especially as all the shots were so mishit that he could never really set himself. It was all he had to do, his goal otherwise unthreatened.
Vladimir Coufal
Doesn't get beat down his flank, keeps himself as a constant presence for Bowen to use down the wing.
Emerson
Threatening on the occasions he did go forward, making inroads into the box. It was his shot on target, our first of the game, that started the spell where the equaliser came.
Kurt Zouma
Controlled performance, could have done better with a headed chance but put in an assured defensive display.
Nayef Aguerd
His pace proved useful against Orban, whilst it's nice to see us a little calmer on the ball when under pressure as him and Rice are not prone to panic in possession.
Declan Rice
The best player on the pitch, although the midfield took a little while to get to grips with Gent. Once they did, Rice controlled the game and took his goal with such confidence. He seemed to be waiting to use his full speed, so sure of what he was doing and how it would impact his opponents.
Tomas Soucek
Isn't making the runs into the box he used to, but on the occasion he did, he should have scored. On the stretch though he was, he should have got over the effort and struck into the empty net, rather than smashing the bar. Another game where he seemed to be making simpler passes in the middle, which is improving things there.
Lucas Paqueta
A very good performance, if you ignore the awful error which gifted Gent the lead. Those moments happen too often with Paquet??, just lazy, sloppy passes and touches. Cut them out and continue his growing influence on the good things we do and he'll be a star.
Said Benrahma
A continuation of Benrahma's quieter performances of late. Couldn't pick a good cross, didn't really threaten, but had the odd moment.
Jarrod Bowen
Didn't get the goal his performance deserved, but another game where he's a continuous threat, dangerous running at defenders and contributing in the final third. Should have got a goal, but comes away with an assist, and was unlucky not to have another after setting up Soucek.
Michail Antonio
Mic's resurgence late into the season is looking the key to any West Ham success. He bullied Arsenal at the weekend with hard work and physicality, and bullied Gent here with nous and goals. The header is just a man who knew where to stand and that he couldn't be moved by a defender.
Substitutes
Flynn Downes(Replaced Rice 70) All of the subs came into a game that had lost any competitive edge and saw out the game comfortably.
Danny Ings
(Replaced Antonio 70) As above.
Thilo Kehrer
(Replaced Zouma 70) As above.
Pablo Fornals
(Replaced Benrahma 78) As above - one really good pass did set Cornet through. Needs to calm himself, looks so frustrated in any misstep.
Maxwel Cornet
(Replaced Bowen 78) Going to have to find some sensible composure in front of goal.
Lukasz Fabianski
Did not play.
Ben Johnson
Did not play.
Aaron Cresswell
Did not play. Also unused: Joseph Anang, Freddie Potts, Divin Mubama.
Manuel Lanzini
Did not play. Also unused: Joseph Anang, Freddie Potts, Divin Mubama.
Match Facts
West Ham United: Alphonse Areola, Vladimir Coufal, Emerson, Kurt Zouma, Nayef Aguerd, Declan Rice, Tomas Soucek, Lucas Paqueta, Said Benrahma, Jarrod Bowen, Michail Antonio.Goals: Michail Antonio 37 Lucas Paqueta 56 Declan Rice 58 Michail Antonio 63 .
Booked: None.
Sent off: None.
Gent: Roef, Samoise, Piątkowski, Okumu, Núrio Fortuna, Kums, De Sart (Odjidja-Ofoe 71), Castro-Montes, Hong (Depoitre 72), Cuypers, Orban (Tissoudali 72).
Subs not used: Nardi, Hauge, Fofana, Torunarigha, Godeau, Van Daele.
Goals: Cuypers (26).
Booked: Orban (18).
Sent off: None.
Referee: Orel Grinfeld.
Attendance: 53,475.
Man of the Match: Michail Antonio.