WEST HAM!!!-FRANKFURT: Another huge challenge
In the end, WEST HAM!!!’s sole comfort was that they were still in the tie. The consequences could have been far worse. For many periods, Eintracht Frankfurt were superior, and while David Moyes picks his way through a sloppy performance from his team, he’s happy that West Ham will have a chance to reach the Europa League final when they travel to Germany next week.
Before the second leg, there is a lot for a naive WEST HAM!!! to improve on. At times, Eintracht
picked them off at will and should have left the London Stadium with a lead greater than 2-1.
If West Ham, whose goal came from Michail Antonio, had equalised after Jarrod Bowen’s overhead kick hit the bar in stoppage time, it would have been undeserved.
Coming this far meant so much to both parties. In the stands, there was no sense of boredom; no sense of people taking this for granted.
After all, this was the first time that younger West Ham fans had seen anything like it.
The pitch was crowded long before kick-off, the hairs on the back of the neck standing to attention when the home fans broke into a spirited performance of I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles as the teams emerged, and it was not surprising to find the ground packed long before kick-off.
After surprising Barcelona in the previous round, Frankfurt were never going to be intimidated. The visitors had a large traveling support and, more significantly, a high level of confidence on the field.
WEST HAM!!! VS FRANKFURT
Oliver Glasner’s side had a sharpness to them, with trouble erupting when Daichi Kamada got possession, and the early indicators were bad for West Ham,
who could not have envisaged being behind with less than a minute on the clock.
To be fair, the Germans scored a well-executed goal. The play started with Kamada gliding
down the left flank, and when the ball reached Rafael Borré, West Ham were slow to
respond. Borré sent a magnificent curling cross in behind Pablo Fornals at the far post,
almost as if he knew Angsar Knauff would be there to meet the ball with a header that left Alphonse Areola rooted to the spot.
Despite Kurt Zouma’s comeback from injury to partner Craig Dawson in central defense. They couldn’t seem to get anything right for a time.
Too many passes went astray, and it appeared that Frankfurt, who were causing issues thanks to their innovative 3-4-2-1 style, would expand their lead.
West Ham, on the other hand, gradually begun to assert themselves. In midfield, Declan Rice began to win tackles.
Antonio began to use his strength up front, forcing Frankfurt to pause for a moment and shift their defense back a few yards.
still have hope before the second leg
When Antonio combined with Tomas Soucek, who sent Bowen sprinting clear into the
middle, the equalizer should have arrived. Kevin Trapp guided the ball onto the left post after his low finish appeared to be good enough.
After a blunder from Almamy Touré, the tension finally released, with Antonio threatening to score again, albeit Frankfurt remained dangerous on the break. West Ham’s players appeared to be unsure on who to pick up at times.
Borré continued to drop deep to pick up possession between the lines, and it was difficult not to feel sorry for Aaron Cresswell as the left-back struggled to keep up with Knauff,
who kept making the same angled run and almost restored Eintracht’s lead when he fired inches wide after another slick counterattack.
Watch amazing West Ham and Eintracht Frankfurt goals!!!
It was a difficult situation for West Ham. Eintracht simply possessed more. Their movement was too fast, and the interplay was too tense.
Following 54 minutes, Djibril Sow sprinted through midfield after a one-two with Jesper
Lindstrm and attempted a low finish past Areola, who parried the ball into the path of Kamada and watched helplessly as the midfielder put the rebound away.
By the end, West Ham had completed their task. After replacing Lanzini, Sad Benrahma came close with a twisting effort, but an equaliser seemed unlikely.
In the final third, more precision was required. There were howls from the fans when Benrahma shot over with Antonio unmarked in the middle, wasting too many great opportunities.
