90’+5’Second Half ends, AZ 0, West Ham United 1.90’+4’Attempt missed. Thilo Kehrer (West Ham United) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Pablo Fornals.90’+3’Attempt blocked. Michail Antonio (West Ham United) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Pablo Fornals.90’+2’Attempt saved. Michail Antonio (West Ham United) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Pablo Fornals.90’+1’Attempt missed. Michail Antonio (West Ham United) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Pablo Fornals with a cross following a corner.90’Corner, West Ham United. Conceded by Owen Wijndal.
West Ham United have reached their first major European final since 1976 after they overcame AZ Alkmaar in their Europa Conference League semi-final. David Moyes’ side soaked up plenty of pressure at AFAS Stadium until Pablo Fornals scored on the counter-attack in second-half injury time. The night was soured, however, by unpleasant scenes off the pitch as AZ Alkmaar fans attacked an area in which friends and family of the West Ham players were watching the match. West Ham will face Fiorentina, who beat Basel in extra time in the other semi-final, in the final and will be hoping to lift their first major trophy since they won the 1980 FA Cup; they were one of three winners of the 1999 Intertoto Cup.
The Hammers have ended a 47-year wait for a European final, having last been in the 1975-76 Cup Winners’ Cup when they lost 4-2 to Anderlecht. They came agonisingly close to breaking that duck last season, losing 3-1 on aggregate to eventual winners Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League semi-finals. This time around they were disciplined, keeping their hosts at arm’s length for much of their second leg. Paqueta clipped the outside of the post in the 26th minute after good work from Michail Antonio, while captain Declan Rice forced a good save from AZ keeper Mat Ryan shortly after the restart. Defender Nayef Aguerd also dragged an effort wide from close range in the 82nd minute, before Pablo Fornals raced clear in injury time and buried the ball into the bottom corner to seal the tie.
Eredivisie side AZ were in their first European semi-final since losing to Sporting Lisbon in the last four of the 2004-05 Uefa Cup. The 1981 Uefa Cup finalists had enjoyed an impressive European run, beating Lazio in the last 16 and coming from two goals down to beat Anderlecht on penalties in the quarter-finals. They threw everything at West Ham in the closing stages – and Hammers defender Thilo Kehrer nearly caught out keeper Alphonse Areola with a risky back-pass. And defender Kurt Zouma was relieved not to have been penalised for a handball in the area, with the video assistant referee deciding not to overturn Slovakian referee Ivan Kruzliak’s non-penalty call. Despite opening the scoring in London last week, AZ slumped to a 3-1 aggregate defeat and need one more point from their final two league fixtures to secure a top-four finish and qualify for next season’s Europa Conference League qualifiers. Player of the match Pablo Fornals with an average rating of 8.80 was instrumental for West Ham United in securing their place in the final.