West Ham United have ended a wait of nearly 60 years for European glory after Jarrod Bowen's last minute goal gave them a dramatic 2-1 win over Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final.
With time running out, the striker went clean through on goal and kept his nerve to finish past keeper Pietro Terracciano and send the Hammers faithful, not to mention manager David Moyes, into ecstasy. The Hammers had earlier led through Said Benrahma's penalty, before Giacomo Bonaventura's crisp striker levelled matters.
And in what is widely expected to be his final night in claret and blue, the result could be the perfect farewell for captain Declan Rice. The England international is now cemented in club folklore, as the first Hammer to lift a European trophy since the legendary Bobby Moore.
The first half ended in stalemate but it wasn't without a major flash point. It was the Serie A side who had made the more settled start without seriously threatening an opener, before the game was paused in unsavoury circumstances just before the 35-minute mark. Fiorentina skipper Cristiano Biraghi was preparing to take a corner when missiles appeared to reign down on him from the stands.
The left-back was duly cut after being struck by an object, with blood streaming from his face as the action was halted. Play resumed after several minutes of consultation between the officials, with West Ham skipper Rice and several players visibly appealing for calm from their fans.
And just before the break, Fiorentina thought they led as Christian Kouame's headed onto the post with Luka Jovic scoring rom the rebound in, but his effort was ruled out for offside. But having shown little threat in the first 45 minutes, it was West Ham seemingly emerged with an extra dimension after the break.
And after 62 minutes they led as Bowen's run into the box was halted by Biraghi's handball, with appeals initially turned down until VAR intervened. And Benrahma duly buried the spot kick to send the London club's fans into ecstasy.
But the joy was brief. Five minutes later Nicolas Gonzalez flicked a header into the path of Giacomo Bonaventura, and the midfielder took a touch before finishing brilliantly across Alphonse Areola.
Chances followed for both teams as Rolando Mandragora side footed wide before West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek’s header forced a save out of Pietro Terracciano. But as the clock ticked into the 90th minute, it was Bowen who provided the moment to savour.
He timed his run perfectly to latch onto a threaded pass by Lucas Paqueta and he broke clear before firing home. The goal was enough to have his manager celebrating on the pitch, as he did at the final whistle amid emotional scenes.
"I obviously dreamed of scoring," Bowen told BT Sport afterwards. "But to score a last minute winner. And to do it in front of these fans, I thought I was going to cry. It's like a dream.
"We had a dream, we haven't had the best season, myself included, but to give these fans this moment, I'm over the moon. I think in my position you make that run 10 times you might get that ball once. As soon as you get it you've got to put it away. This is the biggest game of my career. The emotion, there was time for one more chance. I'm just so happy. I'm over the moon."
