West Ham produce one of THE great European away nights as their dream Europa League run goes on

‘Massive’ is the West Ham fans’ favourite word right now. They sing about how that’s what they are, wherever they go. Well, now they’re in the semi finals of the Europa League.

Just two legs against Eintracht Frankfurt. That’s all that separates West Ham and a major European final, and the ease with which they dispatched of Lyon was indeed ‘massive’.

Their French hosts tried their best to intimidate their visitors. They had their fireworks, their flares, their whistles and drums, but they didn’t have the je ne sais quoi that West Ham had.

Once Craig Dawson’s headed opener went in, it was curtains for Lyon. From there, Declan Rice added a second, sprinting to the 3,000 West Ham supporters sitting in the heavens and kissing the badge. Jarrod Bowen then got the third, a fine finish at the end of an excellent counter-attack.

What a night this was, and to think it fell on the anniversary of their greatest night in Europe – a 3-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt which sent them into the 1976 European Cup Winners’ Cup final.

As fate would have it, it is Frankfurt who they will face next, the Germans having surprisingly beaten Barcelona.

More than a few West Ham fans may be disappointed with that outcome. They fancied a trip to the Nou Camp.Still, they may get their day in the Spanish sun – the final is in Seville on May 18, after all.

There were West Ham fans watching this game around the world, some setting their alarms and others taking time off work to tune in. It kicked off at 8pm in England but for James Findlay in Auckland, New Zealand, it was 7am. For Iraklis Velitskakis in Thessaloniki, Greece, 10pm. For Zach Vavro in Pittsburgh, America, 3pm. For Chris Filer Jr in Melbourne, Australia, 5am.

They hoped it would be worth it, and you can imagine Chris was hugging the living room cushions during a nervy opening. A wave of Lyon attacks were thrown at West Ham, who had the woodwork to thank for not falling 1-0 down inside five minutes. Karl Toko Ekambi cut inside and had space to shoot, beating goalkeeper Alphonse Areola but not the post.

That was close, and Lyon forever looked likely to score from crosses, too. Right back Malo Gusto was doing his own bleep test down his wing, tirelessly running back and forth, and one ball into the box from him led to a melee which West Ham scrambled to clear.

Lyon weren’t playing like a side wallowing in 10th in Ligue 1. They were on top, pushing the Premier League visitors back. Yet after surviving this early storm – and my word they had been choppy waters – West Ham took hold of the game.

Their first chance to score arrived in the 24th minute when Michail Antonio crossed to the back post. It was a nice ball, and Bowen was there waiting. He stretched to meet it but couldn’t direct it on target and beyond Julian Pollersbeck.

At this stage, West Ham had only managed 30 per cent possession. But then they scored a very familiar goal – the type of which we’ve seen from them in the Premier League this season.

Bowen’s effort was deflected behind by Jason Denayer, winning West Ham a corner. Lyon’s fans were whistling, making a piercing nose. Their attempt at distraction did not work. Pablo Fornals crossed and Dawson, charging in at the near post, headed home.

West Ham were ahead. Would they sit back and try to defend the 1-0 lead? Don’t bet on it.

It was 2-0 before half time when Emerson’s headed clearance fell to Rice on the edge of the box. The England international opened up his body as if he was going to shoot to his right. He aimed left instead and, with a helpful deflection from Castello Lukeba, beat Pollersbeck.

Lucas Paqueta was Lyon’s best player in the first leg and West Ham thought he’d be miss this match after testing positive for Covid on Thursday morning. They thought wrong. He tested negative in the afternoon in a separate test and so was available.

Paqueta was introduced for the second half by manager Peter Bosz, and so was Tete. It didn’t help. One counter-attack and it was 3-0 to West Ham and goodnight Lyon.

Antonio was involved in the build-up, as he so often is nowadays. He held the ball up before passing to Fornals, who played a clever first-time ball in behind for Bowen. The 25-year-old who got his start in non-League sprinted on to it and applied the finish, beating Pollersbeck.

Now it felt like party time for West Ham. At least that’s how the 3,000 supporters cramped in the corner of the Groupama Stadium planned to spend the final half hour. Lyon heads were gone, and so were a few fans who made their ways to the exits.

There was still time for Areola to have a contribution. He had the odd save to make, though as time ticked on, it was merely a consolation that Lyon were searching for.

As mentioned, this victory fell on the same day that, in 1976, West Ham defeated Eintracht Frankfurt in the European Cup Winners’ Cup to reach the final of that competition. Considered by many supporters of age to be their best memory, the club is now writing new chapters.

For that, David Moyes deserves great credit. He’s taken this team to a new level in such a short space of time, and now they can say they’re Europa League semi finalists.

 

 

 

Scroll down to see how it all unfolded with Sportsmail’s live runner.

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