After all, the only consolation for West Ham was that they were still on par. The damage could have been more serious. Eintracht Frankfurt have been excellent for long periods and, while David Moyes chooses his team’s confused performance, he will be relieved that West Ham will have a chance to reach the Europa League final when they travel to Germany next week.
There are many things that a naive West Ham can improve before the rematch. At times, Eintracht chose them at will and had to leave the stadium in London with more than 2-1 lead. It would have been undeserved if West Ham, whose goal came from Michael Antonio, had equalized when Jarod Bowen’s shot from above hit the crossbar in added time.
It meant so much to both sides that we got this far. There was no feeling of sadness in the stands; there is no point in taking this for granted. After all, younger West Ham fans have never seen anything like it before. It was the first European semi-final for their team since 1976 – strangely enough against Frankfurt – and it was no surprise to find that the ground was full long before the start, the neck hair I noticed when fans the hosts started an exciting performance of I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles and the teams appeared.
Still, Frankfurt would never be amazed after stunning Barcelona in the previous round. The guests were supported by a large traveling contingent and, more importantly, they did not lack confidence on the field. There was freshness on Oliver Glasner’s side, problems erupted when Daichi Kamada ruled, and the early signs were ominous for West Ham, who couldn’t imagine being less than a minute behind.
Admittedly, this was a great goal by the Germans. The move began with Kamada deviating to the left and West Ham reacted slowly when the ball reached Rafael Bore. The striker had too much time to turn around and when Bore sent a fine cross behind Pablo Fornals on the far post, he seemed to know that Angsar Knauf would be there, rushing from the right back to meet the pass with a title that left Alphonse Areola rooted in the place.
West Ham, backed by Kurt Zuma, returning from injury to central defense partner Craig Dawson, looked shocked. For a while, they couldn’t do anything right. Too many passes went wrong, and there were times when Frankfurt, who were creating problems thanks to their enterprising 3-4-2-1 system, seemed likely to extend their lead.
Gradually, however, West Ham began to gain ground. Declan Rice started winning his midfield matches. Antonio began to use his power in front, forcing Frankfurt to think twice and move his defense a few yards back.
The equalizer was to come when Antonio combined with Tomasz Soucek, who sent Bowen to compete in the middle. His low finish looked good enough, but Kevin Trapp aimed his shot at the left post.
Landed Michael Antonio marks the equalization of West Ham. Photo: Glyn Kirk / AFP / Getty Images
Still, it was encouraging for West Ham and it was no surprise when they equalized. They had an advantage over Eintracht, who missed the influential Christian Jakic and Evan Ndika through penalties, and the visitors crashed when Manuel Lanzini took a direct free kick to the far post in the 21st minute. There was no challenge against Zouma and Antonio made a volley past Trapp.
Eventually the tension was raised, Antonio threatened to score again after a mistake by Almami Toure, although Frankfurt remained threatening at the break. Sometimes the West Ham players didn’t seem to know who to take. Borré continued to fall deep to gain possession between the lines and it was hard not to feel Aaron Creswell as the left-back strained to support Knauff, who continued to make the same angle and almost regained Eintracht’s lead when he fired inches after more a shiny counterattack.
It was awkward for West Ham. Eintracht simply had more for them. Their movement was too fast, too sharp an interaction West Ham could not cope and they fell behind again when Jibril Sow invaded the middle of the field after 54 minutes, exploded after one or two with Jesper Lindström and tried to put a low blow along the Areola , who parries the ball in the path of Kamada and watched helplessly as the midfielder bounces the ball.
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West Ham had to finish everything. As Saïd Benrahma approached with a bending effort after replacing Lanzini, an equalizer rarely felt likely. More precision was required in the last third. Too many promising positions were lost and there was a howl from the crowd when Benrahma shot Antonio without scars in the middle.
This summed up the evening at West Ham, although they enjoyed a huge escape when the reflected blow of Kamada hit the windows. At least they still have hope before the rematch.
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