Two minutes later, the overdue breakthrough came when Yarmolenko spotted Antonio’s run into the penalty area. West Ham hit the woodwork again in the 27 th minute when Craig Dawson rose above a startled defence to head Cresswell’s corner against Paul Gartier’s post. In the centre Michail Antonio gave Kevin Wimmer the kind of torrid encounter he suffered during unlamented spells at Tottenham and Stoke and when Maximillian Ullmann took a Ben Johnson cross full in the face, Rapid were already looking only to cling on. Rice controlled midfield, Andriy Yarmolenko created havoc on the left and Benrahma did much the same down the right. West Ham looked set for a boot-filling evening. Two of Saturday’s starters almost put the home side ahead in the seventh minute when Rice headed Aaron Cresswell’s free kick onto the post and Issa Diop rolled the rebound wide. With places to play for, initially West Ham were eagerness itself. “I want to be in this competition after Christmas, but I want to do well in the Premier League too.” Noting that the Austrians who finished last season second from the top of the Bundesliga, are currently second from the bottom, with an eye on Brentford’s visit on Sunday, Moyes made seven changes from Saturday’s win at Leeds. We could have had more.”įor all that the stadium announcer pronounced West Ham’s first ever competitive game with an Austrian side and their first European game at all since a 2016 Europa League qualifying defeat to the Romanians of Astra Giurgiu, a “European extravaganza”, Moyes was rather less sentimental. “But it wasn’t as if we didn’t deserve to win the game. “The performance wasn’t as high as others,” admitted David Moyes, the West Ham head coach. And certainly without the righteous intervention of Var, Rapid would have had a penalty, but better sides than them would surely have taken advantage of West Ham’s torpor. Then, apropos of nothing, they handed the initiative to Rapid who, without troubling debutant goalkeeper, PSG loanee Alphonse Areola, might have snatched something. In a one-way first half, they outclassed the feeble Austrians, hit the woodwork twice and created a hatful of glistening chances. In the end goals from Declan Rice and, in added time, Said Benrahma were enough to see off Rapid Vienna and West Ham United already look sure to progress from Europa League Group H. However, this peculiar performance asked more questions than it answered. Late Said Benrahma goals makes it six points from six for West Ham in group.Rapid Vienna penalty overturned after Var review in the second half.Objects thrown between home and away sections after Declan Rice's opener.
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