West Ham ended their 43-year wait for a major trophy as Jarrod Bowen scored a last-minute goal to beat Fiorentina and win the Europa Conference League in Prague.
The final seemed to be heading for extra time after Said Benrahma’s second-half penalty was cancelled out just seven minutes later by a well-taken effort from Giacomo Bonaventura.
It was a testy and sometimes bad tempered game – and at one point it got downright ugly as Fiorentina captain Cristiano Biraghi was struck by a plastic bottle thrown from the West Ham section.
The match was settled in the most dramatic manner.
Bowen timed his run to perfection as Lucas Paqueta slid a superb pass through the Fiorentina defence.
The England man ran free, steadied himself, then beat Pietro Terracciano with a calm finish to thrill the Hammers fans – who were far greater in number than the 5,000 tickets they were allotted – and send manager David Moyes running down the touchline to celebrate the first major silverware of his career.
It mean captain Declan Rice, in probably his final game for the club, emulated club greats Bobby Moore and Billy Bonds by leading the club to glory. Moore captained West Ham to the 1965 European Cup Winners’ Cup and Bonds led them to the FA Cup in 1975 and 1980.
The victory also seals a place in next season’s Europa League and means European football for the third year running for the first time in the club’s history.
Jubilation for West Ham
The manner of victory could not have been any sweeter for West Ham.
Whilst Nayef Aguerd took time out to console Morocco team-mates Sofyan Amrabat at the final whistle, the celebrations of the Premier League team were something to behold.
From 18-year-old forward Divin Mubama, who played no part, to Moyes himself, finally a trophy-winner after such a long career in management, all joined in joy, leaping around trying to take it all in.
There will be an unwanted post-script as Uefa is bound to come down hard on the Hammers for the unwanted first-half scenes that left Biraghi playing with a bandage round his head for the last hour of the contest and forced the club to condemn those responsible.
However, that is for another day.
The reaction from the pitch and the stands at the final whistle give a lie to anyone who feels this tournament is beneath them and should give hope to Aston Villa, England’s entrants next season.
At the centre of it all was Rice. There was no thought of his future as he lapped up the adulation of the fans who have followed his journey from rising academy star to full England honours.
More to follow.
Player of the match
BowenJarrod Bowen
Fiorentina
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Squad number34Player nameS Amrabat
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Squad number1Player nameTerracciano
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Squad number5Player nameBonaventura
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Squad number2Player nameDodô
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Squad number4Player nameMilenkovic
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Squad number3Player nameBiraghi
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Squad number16Player nameRanieri
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Squad number98Player nameIgor Julio
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Squad number22Player nameGonzález
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Squad number72Player nameBarák
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Squad number9Player nameArthur Cabral
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Squad number99Player nameKouamé
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Squad number38Player nameMandragora
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Squad number8Player nameSaponara
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Squad number7Player nameJovic
West Ham United
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Squad number20Player nameBowen
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Squad number41Player nameRice
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Squad number11Player nameLucas Paquetá
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Squad number22Player nameBenrahma
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Squad number33Player nameEmerson
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Squad number27Player nameAguerd
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Squad number28Player nameSoucek
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Squad number9Player nameAntonio
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Squad number13Player nameAréola
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Squad number5Player nameCoufal
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Squad number8Player nameFornals
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Squad number24Player nameKehrer
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Squad number4Player nameZouma
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Squad number21Player nameOgbonna
Line-ups
Fiorentina
Formation 4-3-3
- 1Terracciano
- 2Cordeiro Dos Santos
- 4MilenkovicBooked at 75mins
- 16RanieriSubstituted fordos Santos de Pauloat 84′minutes
- 3Biraghi
- 5Bonaventura
- 34S AmrabatBooked at 85mins
- 38MandragoraBooked at 66minsSubstituted forBarákat 90+3′minutes
- 22González
- 7JovicSubstituted forMendonça Cabralat 45′minutes
- 99KouaméSubstituted forSaponaraat 62′minutes
Substitutes
- 8Saponara
- 9Mendonça Cabral
- 11Ikoné
- 15Terzic
- 23Venuti
- 28MartÃnez
- 31Cerofolini
- 32Duncan
- 42Bianco
- 72Barák
- 77Brekalo
- 98dos Santos de Paulo
West Ham
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 13Aréola
- 5Coufal
- 4ZoumaSubstituted forKehrerat 61′minutes
- 27AguerdBooked at 53mins
- 33Emerson
- 28Soucek
- 41Rice
- 20BowenBooked at 90mins
- 11Lucas Paquetá
- 22BenrahmaBooked at 31minsSubstituted forFornalsat 76′minutes
- 9AntonioSubstituted forOgbonnaat 90+4′minutes
Substitutes
- 1Fabianski
- 2Johnson
- 3Cresswell
- 8Fornals
- 10Lanzini
- 12Downes
- 14Cornet
- 18Ings
- 21Ogbonna
- 24Kehrer
- 62Potts
- 72Mubama
- Referee:
- Carlos del Cerro Grande
Live Text
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Match ends, Fiorentina 1, West Ham United 2.
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Second Half ends, Fiorentina 1, West Ham United 2.
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Sofyan Amrabat (Fiorentina) wins a free kick on the right wing.
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Foul by Pablo Fornals (West Ham United).
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Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United) is shown the yellow card.
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Foul by Sofyan Amrabat (Fiorentina).
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Lucas Paquetá (West Ham United) wins a free kick on the right wing.
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Igor Julio (Fiorentina) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United).
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Substitution, West Ham United. Angelo Ogbonna replaces Michail Antonio.
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Nikola Milenkovic (Fiorentina) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Lucas Paquetá (West Ham United).
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Substitution, Fiorentina. AntonÃn Barák replaces Rolando Mandragora.
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Foul by Rolando Mandragora (Fiorentina).
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Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Goal! Fiorentina 1, West Ham United 2. Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United) left footed shot from the left side of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Lucas Paquetá with a through ball following a fast break.
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Pietro Terracciano (Fiorentina) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Thilo Kehrer (West Ham United).
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Foul by Igor Julio (Fiorentina).
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Michail Antonio (West Ham United) wins a free kick on the right wing.
