VAR FINALLY SHINES
ACF Fiorentina 1 West Ham United 2
My mate John and I booked our British Airways return flights to Prague to attend this final at the beginning of August 2022, a week or so before West Ham had even taken part in their qualifying fixtures in the Europa Conference League. I found an excellent and competitively priced hotel and booked that, too.
Around ten months later and West Ham are preparing to take on the Italian club Fiorentina, a club they previously faced in the 1975-76 season in the short-lived two-legged Anglo-Italian Cup Winners Cup Final. On that occasion, West Ham lost both legs of the competition fixture 1-0, whilst nevertheless reaching the actual European Cup Winners Cup final. They also lost that game 4-2 on that disappointing occasion to Anderlecht. This season’s competition set them up against Anderlecht again, at the group stage, but this time they won the fixtures 1-0, home and away. This sleight of results hand suggests a victory in the final. We shall see.
Fiorentina have scored the most goals in the tournament, whilst West Ham are unbeaten throughout it. Fiorentina finished 8th in Seria A whilst West Ham’s Premier League finish was a disappointing 14th. But this is a one off game that either side can win.
West Ham are in their second change strip of white and tangerine, Fiorentina in purple, Hammers the away side for the fixture on the toss of a coin.
From the kick off Fiorentina’s high press has them caught in possession, and Paquetá pushes the ball out wid to Antonio, but his shot is fielded low down to his right by Pietro Terracchiano. Hammers almost take the lead on 13 minutes when Coufal’s long throw is dragged back by Zouma into the path of Rice, whose shot is inches wide of the far post.
Fiorentina waste two excellent early chances, the captain Biraghi’s excellent corner headed wildly over by Milenkovič, and then González in the clear having the ball whipped off his toes by Aguerd’s brilliantly timed tackle. In injury time it’s a cross from González that Kouamé heads against the inside of the post with Areola beaten, and Jović tucks home the rebound. VAR does its job though, revealing Jović to have crept into an offside position as the header came in, just half an arm beyond Aguerd.
The second half is more even, and another really long throw down the line by Coufal is held up in the area by Bowen only for his marker Biraghi to almost punch the ball away. Penalty! As he has done all season, Benrahma, the spot kicker, fires it home on the hour, with no fuss.
Fiorentina are level though, just six minutes later, when Amrabat’s long ball over to the right is headed into the path of Bonaventura, whose prompt shot cannons through a crowd of players into the corner of Areola’s net. 1-1.
With twenty minutes to go, West Ham, now looking the more likely to score, see Paquetá’s brilliant flick through to Antonio hit first time, but straight at the keeper, who gratefully scoops the ball away. In the end the replay reveals Antonio offside as he has gone a little too early.
A rare foray upfield by Fiorentina a minute later by González, picks out substitute Arthur Cabral who sets up a virtual penalty on the edge of the area for Mandragora, with plenty of time and space, perhaps too much, and the Italian hits the ball sweetly, but wide.
Yet another long throw into the area by Coufal is aimed at Antonio, who is being marked closely but brilliantly finds Souček in space, who controls the ball before getting in a shot that Terracciano claws away brilliantly. Souček almost scores again seconds later beating his marker in the air from a long clearance, but again the keeper scrambles the ball away.
Then, in the final minute, after a scramble in the centre circle, Paquetá picks up the loose ball and rolls a pass beyond Igor through to Bowen, like a perfectly weighted putt on the last green at the Open. With the element of control taken out of the equation, Bowen takes a touch before lifting the ball over Terracciano who, though he thrusts his left leg at it, cannot prevent its perfect trajectory from taking it firmly into the corner of the net.
A look at the watch confirms that this is a goal scored in the 90th minute. It isn’t difficult to sense the collective head drop from the Fiorentina players, whose thoughts must have all been on the journey into extra time mode.
The added joy is that, thanks to Twitter and social media we are all able to share this experience intimately with the club and players in a way that would have been impossible in 1965. Memories of the experience down to what we said, how we looked and what Prague was like will be recoverable in all its East End glory forever. How perfect is that?
Paquetá rolls the pass through to Bowen like a perfectly weighted putt on the last green at the Open. With the element of control taken out of the equation, Bowen takes a touch before lifting the ball over Terraciano who, though he flicks a hand at it, cannot prevent its perfect trajectory from taking it firmly into the back of the net. A look at the watch confirms that this is a goal scored in the 90th minute. It isn’t difficult to sense the collective head drop from the Fiorentina players, whose heads must have all been on the journey into extra time mode.
Thanks to Twitter we are able to share this experience intimately with the club and players in a way that would have been impossible in 1965. Memories of the experience down to what we said, how we looked and what Prague was like will be recoverable in all its East End glory forever.
How perfect is that?
Scamacca, though, the forgotten man, L’uomo dimenticato… will be amongst the many disappointed Italians tonight…
13 Alphonse Areola, 33 Emerson, 4 Kurt Zouma, 5 Vladimir Coufal, 27 Nayef Aguerd, 41 Declan Rice (captain), 11 Lucas Paquetá, 28 Tomas Souček, 22 Saïd Benrahma, 20 Jarrod Bowen, 9 Michail Antonio
Substitutes: 23 Thilo Kehrer, 8 Pablo Fornals, 21 Angelo Ogbonna
Goalscorers: Saïd Benrahma (penalty), Jarrod Bowen
