YOU SEND ME (OFF)
Europa League Quarter Final First Leg
West Ham 1 Olympique Lyonnais 1
History is in the making this evening at London Stadium as West Ham United prepare for the first leg of the Europa League Quarter Final. Whatever happens, history will be made for Declan Rice and his West Ham United team, as both sides fight for the right to play Eintracht Frankfurt or Barcelona in the semi-finals later this month. Tonight, 41 years since their last quarter-final appearance, Declan Rice becomes only the third West Ham captain ever to lead his side out to a European Competition Quarter Final. The opposition Lyon are from the capital of the Auvergne, a south eastern French city close to the Swiss and Italian borders. Lyon qualified for tonight’s game by beating FC Porto of Portugal 2-1 over two legs, drawing 1-1 at home after winning the away leg 1-0.
The first few minutes are a cagey affair as the enormity of the occasion seems to have got to both sides. I know Hammers can win this, but also understand that this kind of occasion is so rare that it can sometimes blunt the talent from shining.
First chance comes Lyon’s way after ten minutes when Emerson finds Paquetá down the left flank, but his swift cross is steered wide from a position where Dembélé should certainly have scored. Another look on the replay and it looks as though Zouma has sneaked a foot in to put him off. Antonio gets away from the Lyon defence seven minutes later and puts Fornals in who sets him up for a shot which Lukeba blocks for a corner. Ndombélé has a decent chance ten minutes later with a powerful effort which is barely a yard wide.
Rice and Souček alternate on going forward, a corner from Bowen finding Rice’s left foot, but the captain’s accurate stroked effort is well saved by Lopes. On 35 minutes Boateng goes down unchallenged, holding his leg, which is just plain embarrassing. Even my 85 year old mother can go an hour wandering round the block without cramp.
Lyon continue to have the majority of the play in the first half, but Hammers clearly aren’t bothered unless Lyon advance into the final quarter, which they rarely do. It’s in the two minutes of injury time that the match moment occurs that defines the remaining passage of the game. Bowen is fouled on the edge of the area by Aouar, and while the surrounding West Ham players anticipate the referee’s whistle, Lukeba stabs the ball forward beyond them, Aouar running on to it and slipping Dembélé through. Although Zouma is to his left, Cresswell runs across and there is a marginal contact between the players, but Dembélé throws himself to the ground spectacularly and Cresswell is given a straight red for fouling the last man. Harsh. Very harsh. Dembélé winks at the camera. Twat. And then Lyon waste the ensuing free kick.
When the half-time whistle goes, only five and a half minutes of the scheduled two have been played. The German referee Felix Zwaywr, I discover at half time, apart from being shit at maths, was suspended for six months after being involved in a betting scandal in 2005. Perhaps the deep pockets of Lyon are at work tonight.
Moyes is forced to withdraw Benrahma and bring on Ben Johnson at the beginning of the second half to strengthen his newly depleted side. Then, the impossible happens. Antonio and Fornals link up around the centre circle and Fornals’ reverse pass sends Antonio away down the right hand side. Although he is initially dispossessed, Lyon then give the ball away to Fornals who finds Bowen and, off balance, the striker still manages to get a firm contact on the ball to send it past the keeper and into the net, after Boateng has failed to clear.
“Ten against eleven. They don’t care. They’re one up!” Sound commentary from BT’s Ian Darke.
Ndombélé hits in a powerful shot just five minutes later which has Areola scampering across his goal to see the ball out to safety. The player difference is now beginning to tell, and on 66 minutes Lyon equalise. Again the move starts with a foul on Bowen ignored by the feeble ref, and when the second substitute Têté breaks down the right, he beats Johnson, and Fredericks can only turn the pass into the path of Ndombélé, who fires home gleefully. The on-loan Spurs’ bastard.
I am now concerned both at the fact that there is still half an hour to go, and also at the width the two substitutes are finding down West Ham’s flanks. Somehow the defence stands firm, and Hammers even manage to create one further chance in the 81st minute when Bowen and Souček link down the right flank but can’t quite get the ball across to the waiting Antonio.
And there it is. West Ham’s fifth ever home Quarter-Final in a European Competion, and though they haven’t won the tie, they have kept it level despite having played a whole half with just ten men. Some achievement. And the fans can reflect on the fact that Lyon at home have this season been thrown out of the French cup for crowd trouble and deducted a point for similar difficulties in their league match against Marseille. Something to look forward to for the thousands of West Ham fans making the journey across to France next Thursday.
13 Alphonse Areola, 3 Aaron Cresswell, 24 Ryan Fredericks, 4 Kurt Zouma, 41 Declan Rice (c), 15 Craig Dawson, 28 Tomas Souček, 8 Pablo Fornals, 22 Saïd Benrahma, 9 Michail Antonio, 20 Jarrod Bowen
Substitutes: 31 Ben Johnson
Goalscorer: Jarrod Bowen
