In the end the only consolation for West Ham was that they are still alive. Nobody should mistake this for a hard-luck story, even if Jarrod Bowen was desperately unfortunate to hit the bar with an overhead kick in added time. The reality is that Eintracht Frankfurt were dominant for long spells and, when David Moyes picks through his side’s messy performance, his overriding emotion will be relief that West Ham’s hopes of reaching the Europa League final have not been consigned to dust.
Equally there is much for West Ham to improve before they travel to Germany next week. For a start they will have to take far more care in possession. At times West Ham simply seemed to be forcing the issue, almost as if the emotion of their first European semi-final in 46 years had dented their focus, and for all their endeavour it was difficult to remember much in the way of control as they strained to contain Eintracht, who will feel disappointed not to have departed with more than a 2-1 lead.
For West Ham, the signs had felt ominous from the moment the electrifying Ansgar Knauff put Eintracht ahead after 50 seconds. It was galling for Moyes. West Ham tend not to give goals away cheaply but they never looked comfortable dealing with Eintracht’s counterattacks. There were plenty of openings for the Bundesliga side and while West Ham fought hard, levelling through Michail Antonio, it felt fitting that the winning goal came from Daichi Kamada, whose nifty footwork and eye for a pass marked him out as the game’s outstanding player.
West Ham’s creative players could not match Kamada. Pablo Fornals was disappointing and Manuel Lanzini’s touch eluded him. Bowen was a pest but lacked composure at crucial moments. Even the set pieces, so often a source of strength for West Ham, were poor. “We didn’t show enough quality,” Moyes said. “Sometimes the opposition make it hard for you.”
Eintracht certainly did that. They were not intimidated by a passionate home crowd after stunning Barcelona in the last round. Oliver Glasner’s side are strong on their travels and it was not a surprise that Kamada was involved when they sucked the energy out of the stadium by scoring with their first attack.
It was a beautifully worked goal, Kamada carrying the ball down the left, Rafael Borré spinning on the edge of the area. West Ham, who had taken encouragement from Kurt Zouma returning from injury to partner Craig Dawson in central defence, did not even seem to realise they were in trouble. There was too much room for Borré to turn and when the striker sent a curling cross behind Fornals it was almost as if he knew Knauff would be arriving at the far post, hurtling in from right wing-back to head past Alphonse Areola.
West Ham looked shocked. Had Moyes rushed Zouma back too soon? The defence looked edgy and it took a while for West Ham to shake their heads clear. Even Declan Rice was struggling to assert himself in midfield and there were times when Frankfurt, who posed problems with their enterprising 3-4-2-1 system, threatened to extend their lead.
Yet West Ham fought. They soon imposed themselves and the equaliser should have arrived when Antonio combined with Tomas Soucek, who sent Bowen racing clear. The winger’s low finish looked good enough, only for Kevin Trapp to guide the shot on to the left post.
Back came West Ham, pushing again. The concern for Eintracht, who were missing the influential Kristijan Jakic and Evan Ndicka, was how they would fare physically. It was easy to see why when Lanzini lifted a free-kick to the far post in the 21st minute, Zouma headed across goal and Antonio volleyed West Ham level from close range.
Finally the tension was lifted, Antonio threatening to score again after an error from Almamy Touré, though Eintracht remained menacing on the break. At times West Ham’s players did not know who to pick up and it was hard not to feel for Aaron Cresswell as the left-back strained to keep up with Knauff, who kept making the same angled run and almost restored Eintracht’s lead just before half-time.
Eintracht were impressive. Their movement was too quick, the interplay too sharp. West Ham could not cope and they were behind again when Djibril Sow surged through midfield after 54 minutes, played a one-two with Jesper Lindstrøm and tried to place a low finish past Areola, who parried the ball into the path of Kamada and watched helplessly as the midfielder put the rebound away.
West Ham had it all to do. While Saïd Benrahma clipped the woodwork with a bending effort after replacing Lanzini, an equaliser rarely felt likely. More precision was required and there were howls from the crowd when Benrahma fired over with Antonio unmarked in the middle.
It summed up West Ham’s night, though Eintracht will have doubts of their own. Will they regret Kamada’s deflected shot hitting the woodwork at 2-1? It was a huge escape for West Ham and they will take confidence from Eintracht’s average home form. This tie is not over yet.
