May 06, (THEWILL) – Eintracht Frankfurt qualified for the Europa League final with a 1-0 win over West Ham on Thursday, completing a 3-1 aggregate victory over their English opponents who saw two red cards against them.
The Hammers’ already difficult assignment was rendered nearly impossible when Aaron Cresswell was sent off early in the game, and Rafael Borre struck soon after to end the east Londoners’ ambitions of reaching the Seville final.
Yet, the final result did not appear so inevitable throughout. The visitors really got off to a better start and would have given the 3,000 travelling fans plenty of hope in the first exchanges, controlling the most of possession and looking ready to make the most of the second leg.
Instead, just before the 20-minute mark, Cresswell saw red, and the mountain in front of them became near insurmountable.
The referee had to use VAR and an on-field review to reverse his first verdict of simply a booking to a red card. Cresswell, who had clearly brought down Jens Petter Hauge as the last man, was justifiably sent out.
The Hammers’ situation further deteriorated when the hosts took the lead in the 26th minute. An uptick in intensity proved fatal for David Moyes’ side, who were unable to keep up with the hosts’ passing and movement until Borre tucked Ansgar Knauff’s cutback clinically.
Despite the fact that the current was solidly against them, West Ham managed to reclaim their defensive solidity and, were it not for Evan N’Dicka’s goal line clearing from Kurt Zouma’s untidy effort, might have even scored an equaliser before the half-time break.
The game naturally became stretched as Moyes’ men’s physical demands became more and more tolling, but the visitors continued to push for goal-scoring opportunities, driven by the desperation for goals.
Around the hour mark, Jarrod Bowen had a glorious chance to pick out Michail Antonio in the box, but the ever-reliable N’Dicka cut the ball out, while Craig Dawson also connected brilliantly with the striker’s cross, but his header went straight at Kevin Trapp.
Frankfurt, on the other hand, always seemed to be able to deal with the Hammers’ advances, and as dissatisfaction grew, so did sideline tensions.
In a peculiar incident that appeared to entail some foul language and Moyes shooting a ball at the home dugout, the West Ham manager was shown the red card, with Declan Rice eventually calming the situation down.
The visitors’ zeal was palpable, but their goals were lacking, as they failed to draw inspiration from Real Madrid’s antics on Wednesday night.
When Antonio chested down Rice’s ball only to blast straight at Trapp, he had a good chance to set up something spectacular but fluffed it.
Not long after, Tomas Soucek sent a header just wide of the post from a Bowen corner and it was enough for Glasner’s team to see out the win and book their ticket to Seville with remarkable ease.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
