JOINING EUROPE AGAIN
Dinamo Zagreb 0 West Ham United 2
West Ham have two teams out tonight for their first Europa League contest of 2021-22. The first is the XI Moyes has selected to start the game, including debutants Vlašić and Zouma, with Diop, Fredericks and Lanzini having their first starts of the season. The second XI is on the bench. All twelve of them. So if Zagreb decide to not turn up, the crowd will still have a decent competitive match to watch. UEFA. They don’t miss a trick.
Looking at the team selection makes it clear that Moyes is going to use the UEFA Europa League competition to blood his new signings, all of whom have had European experience at the top level. Then there’s Declan Rice who has just played in all England’s games en route to the Euro 2020 final, but who is making his debut in a UEFA fixture.
So much to consider for the positioning of this game. Hammers’ last European Fixture (other than qualifying rounds) was the 2006-07 two-legged 4-0 defeat against Palermo, guest-starring two unfit Argentinians, and Cole and Harewood who each hit the woodwork over the two legs. Prior to that it was the 1999-2000 Inter-Toto games against FC Jokerit, Heerenveen and FC Metz, and UEFA Cup fixtures against NK Osijek and Romania’s Steaua Bucharest. Prior to that they reached the 1980-81 3rd round of the Cup Winners Cup, the 1976 final appearance, a 65-66 semi-final and the one European success at Wembley in 1965. A seventh proper season in Europe out of 56. The mathematics is simple. West Ham have managed to qualify for full European competitions for exactly one eighth of the last 56 seasons. Compare that with the qualifying records of Arsenal, Chelsea or Tottenham. On second thoughts, don’t. The average would otherwise suggest we won’t get another set of European fixtures for seven years.
BT Sport have tonight made Tottenham’s pokey Europa Conference League game their main fixture. Why be angry? West Ham are part of the big six now. The past means nothing. Though I note that the last time West Ham won a UEFA competition fixture was against another Croatian team, NK Osijek.
The first fifteen minutes are all West Ham. Corners, possession and an increasing confidence. And this is against Dinamo Zagreb, the one top seeded team in the group. Zagreb finally muster a free kick on the edge of the West Ham area, which Oršić wastes. In the twenty-first minute Kevin Theophile-Catherine, flustered by the presence of Lanzini, short passes back to his keeper Livaković, and Antonio steals in with two touches to expertly steer the ball into the unguarded net. “Hammer Time!” says BT’s commentator for the night, Peter Drury. It’s an absolute gift, and hardly surprising from the passage of play thus far. Ryan Fredericks is through one on one just three minutes later, but fires straight at the keeper. Could have been two in two minutes.
The Dinamo Zagreb fans sing with an animated relentless passion despite their team’s rather disjointed and listless performance. Vlašić plays with a vigour and energy that is pleasing. Zouma looks like he’s been a Hammer all his life. Lanzini gets a yellow for an enthusiastic but ultimately fair ball-winning tackle on a whingeing Petkovic. Rice squares up to the referee in anger. It’s all go, mama.
It’s more of the same in the second half. West Ham fans are programmed by their history to attribute any club success to the mediocrity of the opposition. But now? They look like a tight and well-organised outfit tonight. Five minutes in and Rice, picking up a loose ball in his own half, begins one of those mazy runs that generally ends with the ball blasted over, an over hit through ball pass or a cross that no one can reach… This time the West Ham captain goes it alone, and slots the ball left-footed through the legs of Livaković. The celebrations are rampant, so much so that Zagreb’s number five Arijan Ademi tries to break them up. Hilarious. Especially as, or perhaps because, it was him chasing back that Rice ultimately humiliated.
Zagreb respond in flashes, but whenever they threaten, Souček, Zouma and Diop are there to clear up. Leicester and Spurs are both held in their respective fixtures after leading 2-0, so West Ham are the only UK winners from this evening’s games. Suck on that you other, more successful, sides. Speaking of which, how did Arsenal do? Surely they have qualified for Europe this season?
1 Lucasz Fabiański, 24 Ryan Fredericks, 4 Kurt Zouma, 23 Issa Diop, 3 Aaron Cresswell, 41 Declan Rice (c), 28 Tomas Souček, 11 Nikola Vlašić, 8 Pablo Fornals, 10 Manuel Lanzini, 9 Michail Antonio
Substitutes: 26 Arthur Masuaku, 16 Mark Noble, 22 Saïd Benrahma, 7 Andriy Yarmolenko, 20 Jarrod Bowen
Goalscorers: Michail Antonio, Declan Rice
International Referee: Ruddy Buquet (La France)
