AND just like that, the good times are back in east London.
David Moyes is dancing down the touchline like a lunatic. Declan Rice is scoring worldies. West Ham are back in a European semi-final.
GettyWest Ham progressed into the Europa Conference League semi-final[/caption]
Declan Rice helped inspire the comebackRex
Make no mistake, their Premier League campaign has been an utter misery, one that still sees them fighting for their lives in one of the tightest scraps in top-flight history.
But boy, do they still know how to get the job done in Europe under Moyes’ guidance.
Level at half time as Michail Antonio cancelled out Hugo Cuypers’ 26th-minute tap-in, the floodgates opened thanks to Lucas Paqueta’s 55th-minute penalty.
A flurry followed in the space of ten mad minutes. Rice ran the length of the pitch for a superb third before Antonio curled in his second and West Ham’s fourth. Game over.
You could sense many in the London Stadium were having flashbacks to last season’s run to the Europa League semi-finals that saw continental heavyweights Sevilla and Lyon flattened.
The Europa Conference League’s opposition has been significantly less sexy. Two Danish minnows, a fallen Romanian giant and the best that Belgium have to offer among them.
Not that Moyes gives a jot, nor do the fans. For the second year on the spin, the Hammers are two games away from a first major European final since 1976.
Just under twelve months ago, West Ham had their hearts broken by Eintracht Frankfurt in the semis. This time around, Holland’s AZ Alkmaar stand in their way.
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Victory away at Bournemouth this weekend could just about secure Prem survival, leaving the Irons free to once more dream of lifting their first piece of silverware for 43 years.
After an impressive display to earn a draw versus Arsenal, Antonio was given another chance to lead the line – first-leg scorer Danny Ings on the bench again.
Having rotated out in Gent, Moyes opted for full strength to get the job done here.
The visiting coach Hein Vanhaezebrouck wanted to delay kick-off by 15 minutes as their coach got stuck in Stratford traffic, moaning about the disruption to their routine.
He need not have worried with West Ham a bundle of nerves on the ball. Paqueta sloppily gave away possession in his own half in the 25th minute.
Sixty seconds later, the hosts were behind. Hyunseok Hong fed dangerman Orban, who drove into the box and crossed to the back post for Matisse Samoise to scuff his shot.
An early slice of luck for the Belgians, the ball falling kindly at the feet of Cuypers to nudge goal wards, somehow escaping Nayef Aguerd’s attempted block on the line.
This was the first time West Ham had gone behind in this competition since a group stage trip to Silkeborg in September. Their 11-game Conference League unbeaten streak was under threat.
A needless handball from defender Alessio Castro-Montes then gave Jarrod Bowen the chance to deliver a free-kick with whip and precision, and Antonio’s near-post headed flick made the most of it.
The onslaught began within seconds of the restart. Tomas Soucek smacked the bar from six yards. Bowen forced Davy Roef into a good stop. Joseph Okumu then produced a blatant handball in the box.
Referee Orel Grinfeeld bizarrely let play go on as Antonio hit the post, only to review the monitor on VAR’s recommendation. Penalty awarded. Paqueta succeeded with a stutter.
Gent quickly lost their heads. With 58 minutes on the clock, Rice won back the ball outside his own box and drove majestically until finishing low into the corner.
Five minutes on and Antonio was celebrating his second, a curled effort to make him West Ham’s joint-highest goalscorer in Europe with eight, now level with Bowen.
Moyes has spent most of this season fighting to keep his job. Should West Ham reach the final in Prague on June 7, he has the chance to become immortal in these parts.