West Ham United have won a major European honour for the first time in 43 years after beating Fiorentina 2-1 in the final of the Europa Conference League in Prague on Wednesday night.
Said Benrahma gave the Hammers the lead shortly after the hour mark at the Fortuna Arena from the penalty spot before his 12th goal of the season was cancelled out by Giacomo Bonaventura just five minutes later. Jarrod Bowen’s 90th minute strike, his 12th of the season in all competitions, sealed the win for the Hammers, who will be in Europe for a third straight season next term.
As West Ham won their first major honour since the 1980 FA Cup, football.london take a look at the major talking points from the win in the Czech capital.
Moyes and his men immortalised
Not since 1980 had West Ham won a major trophy, and you would have had to go back a further 15 years to find the only other time the Hammers had won a major European trophy. That of course was until Bowen’s all-important finish with seconds remaining of the 90 minutes.
Exactly two months ago, some West Ham fans held banners with 'Moyes out' written on them during the 1-0 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage, but love and support that has largely shown since then highlights an instant, yet deserved U-turn from supporters.
Considering West Ham spent over £170million on new signings this season only to finish 14th in the Premier League table, the Hammers had to have something to hang on to in order to prevent this season from being a total disaster. To an extent, that could be said in the Premier League, but on the whole, it could not be further from the truth.
READ MORE: Every word David Moyes said on West Ham's Fiorentina final, Declan Rice's future and trophy dreams
While the majority of the 25,000 or so West Ham fans that descended on Prague did so without being able to fly directly from England, or without a match ticket at their disposal, it really created the atmosphere that this, despite being situated 769 miles away from the London Stadium, felt like a home game. Over two hours before kick-off, when West Ham’s players arrived, they were serenaded by those in the stadium and it really set the tone for the night, with a sensational atmosphere created by both sets of fans.
A tight first half was perhaps marred by some ugly scenes as a pocket of the Hammers' support launched plastic cups and missiles onto the pitch at Fiorentina players. A nasty cut to the head for Fiorentina captain Chrstian Biraghi was so bad that those supporters had to be told by their own players and the stadium announcer to stop throwing objects onto the field of play.
Shortly after that incident, the Viola thought they opened the scoring when Luka Jovic tapped in on the rebound after Christian Kouame's header was denied, only to for the Hammers to be given a lifeline by the offside flag.
West Ham, who largely had been the inferior side for the opening hour, opened the game up out of nothing when Coufal launched a long throw over Biraghi and onto Bowen, whose chested touch landed on the hand of Fiorentina skipper. Referee Carlos del Cerro Grande, had initially ignored it, but after a VAR check, gave Bowen and West Ham the penalty - the sixth he has won this season. Benrahma, who prior to taking the spot-kick only really featured when getting booked for diving in the first half, stepped up and dispatched his spot-kick perfectly, leaving Pietro Terracciano with very little chance of keeping it out.
West Ham found themselves in danger of giving away a penalty with minutes of going ahead when substitute Thilo Kehrer appeared to block a shot with his arm. Fortunately for Kehrer and the Hammers, it was a decision not looked at much further, something which West Ham would have been grateful for, only for the effects of that to disappear almost instantly.
Latching onto a long switch pass, Nicolas Gonzalez controlled the ball and teed up Bonaventure, whose low sweeping shot drifted too far across Alphonse Areola’s goal for him to get near.
From there, Fiorentina looked to pick up a gear and threatened a winner, with Sofyan Amrabat testing Areola from range. Michail Antonio also found himself through on goal only to shoot straight at Terracciano, getting a let off when realising he was considerably offside at the time.
But just like Lucas Paqueta had played Antonio through on goal moments earlier, he did the same with seconds to go as Bowen raced through with the hearts of east London eagerly anticipating his next move. He ran through on goal and squirmed a shot through Terracciano, a goal that quickly came with the realisation that West Ham had won the Europa Conference League title in the most dramatic fashion.
Moyes, the substitutes and fans were all on the pitch as Bowen peeled off in celebration, etching himself and this team into West Ham folklore at the same time.
For what has been largely a season many would have wanted to forget, it now will be looked back on as one of the greatest campaigns this club has ever experienced.
Declan Rice's West Ham exit confirmed
Going into the game, there was a sense of almost inevitability about the final being Rice’s last game in a West Ham shirt, his 245th for the club’s first team in all competitions.
In what will be his sole season as club captain, when coming through the ranks at the club, surely he could never have dreamt of being a European title-winning captain, especially at the age of 24.
After the game, he was respectful in his post-match media. Despite everyone assuming that it would be his farewell, his comments were not as cut and dried as that.
Little over 12 hours after full-time, however, West Ham co-owner David Sullivan confirmed publicly that his final farewell was one that culminated in his first major honour as a player, with the eagerly-anticipated transfer saga now given the green light.
Considering how long a Rice exit has been on the cards, there would have been an acceptance a long time ago that the last few months have been a farewell tour, but both on and off the pitch, he has committed himself just as much as ever before.
Sure, the official nature of Rice’s exit will sting, but as far as he and the fans are concerned, it was the perfect send off for him.
David Moyes' deserved trophy
Moyes currently ranks third in the all-time Premier League list for most matches managed and although the final was his 1,097th match as a professional manager, it was his first which resulted in a major piece of silverware.
While managers are often ranked on the trophies they win and their achievements, a first major honour will only strengthen his managerial status among the greats, but the fact that despite not winning a major honour until Wednesday night, he has managed several big clubs and achieved a highly respected status without trophies shows that there is more to success sometimes that a trophy cabinet.
Now Moyes can merge his longevity and reputation with doing something only Ron Greenwood and Jon Lyall did before him: win a major trophy with West Ham.
A lot will be said about the players who were a part of this team: those who were here at the start of the rebuild; those who have added extra quality this season; and those not here but who played a hand in getting to this point. Really though, a lot should be said about Moyes for enabling this journey.
Jarrod Bowen's moment of class
By his own admission, Bowen’s performances and form at times this season have been a drop off from his previous stellar campaign. But in the second half of the term and in big games, he has proved again and again why he is among one of the first names in the teamsheet.
Moyes said at full-time that there was no player he would have rather be on the receiving end of that Paqueta through pass than Bowen, and he was right too. It was a goal that typified what Bowen is all about and why he has been one of the best acquisitions of the Moyes era.
At times last season, especially after Christmas, Bowen’s goals carried West Ham, both in Europe and on their way to a seventh placed finish in the Premier League, leading to his England bow.
His tally of 13 goals this season, six of which came in Europe, is hardly a poor return, but the timing of some of those has been just as, if not more important than the goals themselves.
None more so than with literal seconds remaining of the 90 minutes in Prague, a goal that writes himself into the club’s and European history, as well as dubbing legendary status on this West Ham team.
Overcoming the Frankfurt fiasco
It was little over 12 months ago where West Ham’s night in Frankfurt turned from a dream to a nightmare and the emotions of a European semi-final proved too much for some.
That however could not have been further from the truth in Prague and although West Ham were tested mentally at times, they did what they could to get through it all.
It started early on as it became quickly apparent that the Spanish referee was not having any of Antonio’s physicality, even not winning free-kicks when he was clearly hacked down without any notion of Milenkovic winning the ball off him.
Then, some West Ham fans did not do their own players any favours when a series of plastic cups and other objects were lobbed at the pitch and one missile led to Fiorentina captain Biraghi getting cut open. Quickly, the likes of Nayef Aguerd, Paqueta, Antonio and more were having to tell some of their own fans to stop, but the players managed a situation that could have easily got to them really well.
They also recovered well and remained composed when Jovic thought he had given the Viola a late first half lead, pouncing on one small vulnerability as Coufal and Bowen won a penalty and again, late on when Paqueta and Bowen combined.
For the red card, kicking a ball at a ball boy and corruption claims from Frankfurt, this was an exact opposite West Ham: a matured and controlled West Ham, who despite not playing their best football on the night, did what they had to in order to life the trophy.
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