Hammers boss David Moyes elected to make SEVEN changes from the team that was cheated at the Bridge last weekend for the emotionally charged evening game against FCSB, consequently West Ham had to come from behind to beat the Romanian side in their Europa Conference League Group B opener.
The Irons dominated possession from the outset but fell behind in the 34th minute when Andrei Cordea scored at the far post after some sloppy defending. The sudjued atmosphere was clearly influencing the crowd who were outsung by the opposing supporters which inspired their team. The official allowance was for 3,500 away tickets to be made available, however opposition fans were queueing throughout the day to snap up tickets that were available from the ticket office, eventually over 10,000 visiting fans were adjudged to have attended!
At half time Moyes was forced to bring on the A team in the form of Pac Man, Antonio and Jarrod Bowen who equalised after the break with a well-taken penalty after Maxwel Cornet had been fouled.
Emerson then struck from close range to make it 2-1 before Michail Antonio scored a superb trademark 'bully' late third. West Ham could have added even more goals in a strong second-half showing, with Bowen, Pablo Fornals and Antonio all denied.
Overall this was a well deserved victory played in difficult circumstances, the team got the job done, now time to move on. Flynn Downes showed exactly why David Moyes pulled the trigger on his transfer so quickly by making a superb debut, fitting comfortably in support of Declan Rice in midfield, a star of the future!
It was also gratifying to see Les 'Balon' Dawson being given a massive cheer from the crowd as he came on for the closing minutes.
David Moyes' side had made a poor start to the Premier League season with just one win in six games but this was their third successive win in Europe after victories in qualifying.
Comments
Impressed with Packeta, he
Impressed with Packeta, he loves a foot in and looks to be a box to box throwback to the Bryan Robson midfielder to me.
On the negative Scamacca worries me, it's not going to be long before the Haller comparisons start coming out. He's just not making an impact when it matters. I know he scored against the Danes, but they are not at any level, compared to the rigours of the Prem and better European opposition...
To be fair ,… he is coming if
To be fair ,… he is coming if what seems a rather yucky illness… he should not be judged on test game .,.
He has not been training
So I can see why he is not having much impact but I think when fully fir and firing he will be worth every penny.
He
needs game time
Ants up top
With Scam imo,Bowen,2 pints & Cornet delivering will get the best out of scamacca. .difference with Haller is Scam wants to play for Westham
I thought Fornals was so
I thought Fornals was so unlucky on 2 or 3 occasions not to score ,Sama coming in has definitely seen a big improvement in Ants ,hes almost back to his old self ,for me the weak link is now Courfal ,i hate saying it but hes turning into a one trick pony , this scenario where we re nearly rubbish in the first half and unrecognisable good in the second is coming back to haunt us
Johnson still injured
but for me I would have played Ashby, he is faster and fitter and needing some games. I do think that once Aguerd is fit and ready to go that we may see Herhrer playing there as he did occasionally for PSG.