West Ham are through to the last eight of the UEFA Conference League after thrashing ten men Larnaca in Stratford tonight.
Goal from Gianluca Scamacca, Divin Mubama and a brace from Jarrod Bowen were enough to see the Hammers through to the quarter finals as they breezed past the Cypriots.West Ham showed their intent from the get go, with Luca Scamacca - making his first start for some considerable time - testing AEK goalkeeper Piric after just six minutes. And the Italian didn't have to wait too long for his goal to arrive.
With 20 minutes on the clock Pablo Fornals won possession deep in enemy territory before feeding Manu Lanzini. The Argentinian dribbled into the penalty box before finding Scamacca, who beat Piric with a toe punt that slipped underneath the 'keeper's body.
That was to be the only goal of the first half although it ended in controversy as Larnaca midfielder Gus - aka Ledes Evangelista dos Santos - was dismissed following a VAR check that ordered match official Georgi Kabakov to review his decision to initially award a yellow card for a foul on Fornals.
So three goals to the good - and more were to follow after the restart. Jarrod Bowen became West Ham United's leading goalscorer in Europe when he grabbed a quick brace within the opening five minutes of the second period.
His first goal - a smart effort from an acute angle followed a save from a Scamacca effort, while his second was the best goal of the night as Aaron Cresswell's fine delivery from wide on the left was nodded home by Bowen.
The most welcome goal of the night, and that which received the most rapturous applause however was West Ham's fourth and last - scored by substitute Divin Mubama.
The Academy hopeful has been in sterling form this season, scoring hatfuls for the Under 18s and Under 21s. Having been denied his first senior goal against FCSB earlier in the season, when UEFA adjudged his effort to have been an own goal he finally got off the mark when turning a Tomas Soucek header over the line from a Cresswell corner with 25 minutes remaining.
West Ham Utd: Areola, Johnson, Zouma (Laing 68), Ogbonna, Cresswell, Souček (Potts 68), Paquetá (Cornet 54), Lanzini, Bowen (Mubama 54), Fornals, Scamacca (Ings 54)
Subs not used: Hegyi, Anang, Aguerd, Benrahma, Kehrer, Emerson, Rice
Goals: Scamacca (20), Bowen (47, 49), Mubama (65)
AEK Larnaca: Pirić, Casas, Tomović, Gonzalez (Christoforou 46), Englezou, Gus, Oier (Pons 66), Mamas, Jakoliš (Altman 66), Naoum (Faraj 81), Nikolić (Lopes 66)
Subs not used: Toumpas, Stylianidis, Tričkovski, Miličević, Rosales, H.Andreou
Sent off: Gus (45)
Possession: West Ham 66%; Larnaca 34%
Shots/on target: West Ham 18/7; Larnaca 7/3
Tickets Sold: 40,482
Referee: Georgi Kabakov (Bulgaria)
* Something to say about this story? Please visit the KUMB Forum to leave a comment.
