After beating AZ Alkmaar 3-1 on the road, West Ham United won 1-0 there on Thursday to advance to the Europa Conference League final. Substitute Pablo Formals scored a breakaway goal in stoppage time to seal the victory.
following a last-gasp 1-0 victory in the return leg against the Dutch team on Thursday, the Hammers advanced to a European club championship final for the first time in nearly fifty years. The victory came following a 2-1 victory in the first leg in London last week.
West Ham, who finished second in the same competition in 1976 and won the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1965, put up a valiant effort despite looking worn out and spending a lot of the game chasing their opponents.
On June 7, the winner will face either FC Basel or Fiorentina in the final in Prague.
Formals made a breakaway in the fourth minute of stoppage time to win the game while West Ham’s defense was strong and they were already battling for time.
AZ put up a valiant fight, but West Ham handled everything their Dutch hosts threw at them, demonstrating the superiority of the Premier League team over their Dutch rival.
Despite loud protestations from the home crowd, no penalty was given when the ball struck Kurt Zouma’s hand late in the game after being punched clear by his own goalie Alphonse Areola.
Despite boisterous support, AZ appeared sluggish in the first half, but after the break they came out with vigor, making threatening runs and throwing appealing balls into the West Ham penalty area but failing to find a decisive touch. Lucas Paqueta missed the outside of the post in the first half.
In the 74th minute, Jarrod Bowen had a breakaway opportunity, but his draw back in search of a teammate was cleared, and at the other end, Areola made a nervous clearance when Thilo Kehrer’s back ball appeared to be heading towards his own net.
Seven minutes before the last-second victory, defender Nayef Aguerd shot wide while unmarked at the back post.
“His name will go down forever in West Ham history. Regarding Fornals’ accomplishment, captain Declan Rice stated, “He’s really delighted.
“We’re ecstatic beyond words. It’s a significant accomplishment for the team, but now we need to go out and win it, said manager David Moyes.
“AZ played a pretty terrific kind of football; Dutch football is excellent. They shocked us in the first leg, and I was aware that they may punish us if I didn’t put us up in a deeper block.
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