BAYER END MOYES’ EUROPEAN ADVENTURE
West Ham 1 Bayer 04 Leverkusen 1
Jarrod Bowen returns tonight, an absolute essential part of West Ham’s assault on Leverkusen’s two goal advantage from the first leg. The inclusion of Koussouno in Alonso’s starting XI demonstrates his anticipation of the early attacking intentions of the home opposition. This is probably Hammers’ biggest challenge since their European adventure began, back in August 2021. How will they fare?
Hammers play the high line from the very start, but it’s Leverkusen who have the first shot, Tella hitting a drive that birthday boy Fabianski turns acrobatically round the post. But by the thirteenth minute West Ham are ahead, Antonio rising with ease against Koussouno to head Bowen’s curling cross past Kovár. Within a couple of minutes, Kudus’ cross gives Bowen a clear shot at the keeper from ten yards, but Kovár somehow blocks the shot with his legs.
Billy McKinlay on the West Ham bench gets a red card after rowing with the officials after an unexpected litany of bizarre decisions, but Hammers still continue to bombard the Germans with crosses and shots. Despite their best efforts, the Bayer defence holds firm and gets to the break with their one goal advantage in the tie preserved.
The diffference between the managers tonight hints at why this is likely to be David Moyes’ last season at London Stadium. Recognising that West Ham were holding his team at 0-0 towards the end of the first leg, Alonso introduced Hofmann and Boniface, and their presence provided the two goals that decided last Thursday’s fixture.
Moyes has seemed reluctant to use the bench this season, possibly because it is weak, though probably because he has not rotated his squad successfully enough to meet the challenges of the suspensions and injuries that come to every club. Compare the Hofmann and Boniface substitutions to those of Hammers on the night of the first leg, the introduction of Aguerd and Johnson in the 86th minute offering too little too late.
The second half tonight offers further illustration of Alonso’s slick man management across his well-rotated squad, were it to be needed. He brings on Boniface and Frimpong for Schick and Tella, confident that they can provide something in the tie to snuff out West Ham’s attacking threat.
Benrama and Fornals were both impact players who could change a game; think Ghenk away, and Alkmaar in last season’s conference league semi-final second leg. Unfortunately they have been sent packing, and the likes of Cornet, Ings and Johnson are hardly likely to be of serious concern to the opposition, no matter how successful they might have been historically as footballers.
Even if they were to be successful tonight, Moyes doesn’t bring them on until the 84th minute, and five minutes later it is actually the German substitute Frimpong who puts the ball past Fabianski for the tie-deciding equalising goal, albeit after a cruel and ridiculous deflection off Cresswell. West Ham’s only really decent chance in the whole half comes when Bowen robs Hincapié just on the edge of the six yard box only to put his shot across the goal with just Kovár to beat.
Alonso’s ploy has worked a treat. Leverkusen have enjoyed possession across the half for the first time in the game. Without the ball, which they had so much of in the first half, West Ham’s frustration play and confetti of yellow cards mean there is only ever going to be one winner in the tie. Yes, it would still have been a decent consolation for Hammers to be the first team to beat Leverkusen this season, but Alonso’s management master class ensures that even that pyrrhic victory is not possible.
With elimination from Europe, and qualification for it next year now looking unlikely, all that is left to do is to ponder the Moyes’ era and what it has all meant to those of us who follow West Ham United.
‘@WestHamClips’ left us at the height of our powers, champions of Europe, at the top of his bizarre match reporting game and his three seasons of unbridled video genius, all attempts to comprehend the inexplicable success of Moyes. This season we have somehow functioned without Clips and his brand disposition, which rubbed off so deliciously and unexpectedly on the Hammerati, fostering a natural self-deprecating social media humour. This is a humour that is coldly absent from the followers of Spurs, Arsenal and Manchester United, all clubs obscenely swollen with their hilarious degree of righteous indignation. The three of them are, let’s face it, just dull teams steeped in a repetitively delusional world of unmerited entitlement. That all provides a perfect target for the Hammerati, strengthened by the fact that their own side is now competing a bit with success in Europe.
I started this blog when David Moyes began his second stint at West Ham, partly fuelled by the perceived inertia that Covid brought to our lives, partly fuelled by my vocational retirement and partly by my love of football and the community spirit that it encourages in fans. Of course we now live in a world where it sometimes seems passé. These last four seasons have thankfully proved that the spirit of community is not quite dead yet. Perhaps football and the decency and friendship that lurks somewhere in every person will bring it all back.
1 Lucasz Fabianski, 3 Aaron Cresswell, 4 Kurt Zouma (captain), 5 Vladimir Coufal, 27 Nayer Aguerd, 7 James Ward-Prowse, 19 Edson Álvarez, 28 Tomas Souček, 9 Michail Antonio, 14 Mohammed Kudus, 20 Jarrod Bowen
Substitutes: 21 Angelo Ogbonna, 2 Ben Johnson, 17 Maxwel Cornet
Goalscorer: Michail Antonio
