BLOCKING GARY LARNACA
West Ham 4 AEK Larnaca 0
With the job almost complete, all that’s to play for tonight is the victory that will make it ten wins out of ten for David Moyes’ men in their second season of European football. That and Jarrod Bowen nabbing a goal to make him our leading scorer in European League combat. This competition has been derided by many, but their teams could have faced VillaReal, Fiorentina or AK Alkmaar in the Champions or Europa League in the last few years. Larnaca started this season in the Champions League qualifiers, dropped into the Europa League and then into the Conference League and, short of some kind of footballing miracle, should drop out of the third of three by the end of this evening’s game.
Scamacca starts, which will be a relief for Roberto Mancini, the manager of the Italian football outfit who face England in a fortnight. As a previously automatic choice, Scamacca has had few Premier League starts at West Ham this season, so has been denied the top level experience an international striker should have on the domestic front. Seen as the natural successor to Michail Antonio, it also seems an odd selection lapse in the club’s strange ‘difficult’ third season under Moyes.
Scamacca answers the question once Hammers have passed their regular opening ‘never score’ fifteen minute opening period of the game, when his shot squeezes through the legs of Larnaca keeper Kenan Piric to put West Ham ahead. Defender Gus Ledes is then sent off as half time approaches, for an untimely tackle from behind on Pablo Fornals. The West Ham player pleads with the referee not to dismiss his opponent, but VAR confirms that the tackle is dangerous and poorly timed, so the opponents are doomed to be down to just ten men for the second half. As if their uphill task wasn’t difficult enough…
Jarrod Bowen effectively closes the tie early in the second half, tapping in the rebound off a Scamacca shot that Piric can’t hold and two minutes later flicks in a deliciously subtle header from Cresswell’s cross to make it 3-0.
The remainder of the half is a playground opportunity for some neat training ground passing and a half hour for the Larnaca Ten to enjoy their final moments of European action until next year. The final cherry on a continuation run of 100% European win performances for West Ham is provided by Divin Mubama, denied his first European goal last year against FCSB, but this time expertly flicking a goalbound shot past Piric to put West Ham 4-0 up.
The Conference League quarter-final draw awaits tomorrow; West Ham will hope to be second out of the hat after their opposition to guarantee a second leg at home and the best chance of making a second successive European semi-final for a crack at that UEFA trophy.
13 Alphonse Ariola, 3 Aaron Cresswell, 4 Kurt Zouma, 24 Thilo Kehrer, 41 Declan Rice (captain), 27 Nayef Aguerd, 8 Pablo Fornals, 7 Gianluca Scamacca, 10 Manuel Lanzini, 20 Jarrod Bowen, 22 Saïd Benrahma
Substitutes: 28 Tomas Souček, 33 Emerson, 14 Maxwell Cornet, 11 Lucas Paquetá, 72 Divin Mubama
Goalscorers: Gianluca Scamacca, Jarrod Bowen (2), Divin Mubama
