Rapid Vienna fan rockets spoil Declan Rice’s West Ham win | European League

[ad_1]

It was more about running the game than flashy soccer. The result was more important than performance in terms of Post Ham and they did a good job of masking their lack of European experience when Rapid Vienna woke up after the break, Declan Rice leading the way with a series of timely interceptions with David Moyes’ side. Protects thin lead.

Rice had a quiet presence in the second half, his leadership in the middle is crucial, and he was also the midfielder. His second goal in several Europa League matches was enough to keep West Ham in first place in Group A, three points behind Dinamo Zagreb. It was a good night for Moyes’ team, although there was likely to be a UEFA investigation into the crowd problem that marred the first half, and they made points safe when Said Benrahma scored in overtime.

There was buzz around the ground at first, excitement building ahead of West Ham’s first competitive home game in Europe since 2006, but it soon became clear that some members of the traveling team were more intent on causing trouble than supporting their team. It was hot in the corner as the visiting fans were housed, rockets were flying in the air as most of the people inside the stadium happily watched the pre-match lights show, and it exploded when Rice broke the deadlock in the 29th minute, forcing police officers to step in and help the referees recover the system.

The behavior was completely pathetic. Some Rapid fans jumped over the billboards at the front of Sir Trevor Brooking Stand’s lower tier, intent on charging sections of the house, and there was even the absurdity of someone at the far end throwing a water cooler at West Ham fans; Suffice to say, it was a great display of masculinity.

UEFA will take a dim view of the turmoil – questions will surely be asked about how security managed to miss someone walking around with a water cooler – and the disappointment was that this nonsense drew attention away from West Ham’s superb goal. There was a great ball from Andriy Yarmolenko for a quick opening, a clever move from Michel Antonio to get away from his mark and Rice showed the desire to break lines with a late run from midfield. Antonio spotted Rice’s run after controlling his chest and the striker played the ball the other way to the West Ham captain, who ran away with glee after locking into the unprotected net.

Rice had shied away from questions about his future ahead of the match, noting that his reluctance to sign a new, long-term deal did not affect his performance, and the England international does not appear as unhappy with life at West Ham as he celebrated. with his teammates.

Saeed watches his shot as it heads towards the bottom corner. Photography: Jed Lester/Shutterstock

A strong spirit developed under Moyes, who made seven changes to the team that beat Leeds last weekend, and there was a lot to like about West Ham’s first-half performance. They came close to an early lead when Rice looked at a free kick in goal, the visitors escaped when Issa Diop hit the rebound, and there was another opportunity to beg when Craig Dawson sent a free-kick into the post from another set-piece.

Shared at the bottom of the Austrian league, Rapid offered nothing but a few hopeful efforts from Taxiarchis Fountas and Kelvin Arase. West Ham were comfortable, although they weren’t more coherent in attack. Nikola Vlasic was flattered for his bluff before he was substituted just an hour later and West Ham lacked power on the ball at times, their confusion at times infuriating Moyes, who tore Ben Johnson as the young right-back overreached in dangerous territory.

It was clear that Moyes wanted more urgency when he brought in Tomas Sucic, Manuel Lanzini and Jarrod Bowen in place of Mark Noble, Vlasic and Antonio midway through the second half. Noble was looking away from the pace and Antonio, who had felt his groin at one point, was tired out front.

The Fiver: Sign up and get our daily soccer email.

West Ham accounted for space, giving Diop and Dawson more tasks in the center of defence, and they needed the VAR review to save them with less than 20 minutes to go. Replays showed that substitute Marco Groel, substitute for Rapid, fell after a foul by Johnson, and that the referee, Tobias Stiller, reversed his decision to award a penalty.

Rapid fans responded by raising a banner against VAR, but their team had nothing left to say. West Ham moved in, Bowen made a stunning waste, and the points were their points when Ben Rama hit the ball home in a superb finish.

[ad_2]