Looking back on the 14 ties West Ham United have contested on the way to the UEFA Europa Conference League semi-finals...
West Ham United have contested 14 ties to reach the UEFA Europa Conference League semi-finals, winning 13 and drawing one.
The Hammers became the first English club to win ten straight UEFA club competition matches, before drawing 1-1 at Belgian side KAA Gent in the first leg of their quarter-final.
A year after a memorable run to the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League, David Moyes side are hoping to go two better by winning the Conference League in just the second year of the tournament’s existence in Prague on Wednesday 7 June.
The Irons first got the better of Dutch Eredivisie side AZ Alkmaar in a two-legged semi-final and now face the challenge of Italians ACF Fiorentina in our first Europeanf final for 47 years. Here's the story of how we got there.
PLAY-OFF ROUND
West Ham United 3-1 Viborg FF
Viborg FF 0-3 West Ham United
(West Ham United won 6-1 on aggregate)
West Ham United eased past Danish Superliga opponents Viborg FF courtesy of two professional performances in late August 2022.
Gianluca Scamacca got things started at London Stadium, before Jarrod Bowen made it 2-0 midway through the second half. Jacob Bonde halved the Danes’ deficit five minutes later before Michail Antonio’s late goal meant the Irons would travel to Scandinavia with a two-goal advantage.
That became three 22 minutes into the second-leg at a sold-out, vibrant and colourful Viborg Stadion through Scamacca’s smart near-post finish, before second-half strikes from Saïd Benrahma and Tomáš Souček gave the final aggregate scoreline a more one-sided appearance.
GROUP STAGE
West Ham United 3-1 FCSB
West Ham United’s Group B campaign got off to a wobbly start when Romanian side FCSB took a shock half-time lead at London Stadium through Andrei Cordea’s 34th-minute strike.
However, a penalty from Jarrod Bowen levelled things up before Emerson and Michail Antonio ensured David Moyes’ men made a winning start on the night the country mourned the passing of HM Queen Elizabeth II.
Silkeborg IF 2-3 West Ham United
Danish Superliga side Silkeborg gave the Hammers a stern examination in front of a capacity crowd at their neat and compact 7,000-capacity stadium.
Playing on an artificial surface, the Londoners struggled to contain Silkeborg at times, falling behind to Kasper Kusk’s sixth-minute opener before getting to grips with the conditions and going in 3-1 up at half-time thanks to Manuel Lanzini’s penalty and goals from Gianluca Scamacca and Craig Dawson. Soren Tengstedt set up a nervy finale 15 minutes from time, but the visitors held on.
RSC Anderlecht 0-1 West Ham United
The Hammers made it three wins from three with a hard-fought victory in the Belgian capital Brussels.
Gianluca Scamacca was again on target, collecting a lofted pass from Paquetá before spinning and firing low past Anderlecht goalkeeper and captain Hendrik van Crombrugge on 79 minutes.
The home side gave West Ham United some problems, though, with Alphonse Areola called into action to make a fantastic one-handed save to keep out Fábio Silva’s powerful header six minutes from time.
West Ham United 2-1 RSC Anderlecht
West Ham United were made to work hard for the three points by Anderlecht again when the Belgians visited London Stadium in mid-October.
Saïd Benrahma and Jarrod Bowen put the Irons two goals up inside half-an-hour, but Anderlecht stuck to their task and set up a nervy final few minutes when Italian Sebastiano Esposito fired in from the penalty spot late on.
West Ham United 1-0 Silkeborg IF
As they had done in Denmark six weeks previously, Silkeborg proved worthy opponents for West Ham United in east London.
The visitors, managed by former Aston Villa and Denmark defender Kent Neilsen, proved resolute and determined, and it took a first-half penalty from Manuel Lanzini to see them off by a single goal.
FCSB 0-3 West Ham United
With five wins out of five and a place in the round of 16 already secured, David Moyes made significant changes to his squad for the trip to Bucharest on matchday six.
A host of senior regulars were left back in London, as 16-year-old Ollie Scarles and 18-year-old Divin Mubama were both handed starts in Romania.
Scarles impressed at left wing-back, while forward Mubama was only denied a goal when his header was deflected in by Joyskim Dawa eleven minutes after half-time.
By that stage, Pablo Fornals had put West Ham United in front, before the Spaniard completed the scoring midway through the second half.
ROUND OF 16
AEK Larnaca 0-2 West Ham United
West Ham United 4-0 AEK Larnaca
(West Ham United won 6-0 on aggregate)
West Ham United’s first-ever trip to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus ended in a decent 2-0 victory over First Division runners-up AEK Larnaca in early March.
On a warm night and in front of a loud and colourful 6,654-strong crowd at AEK Arena – Georgios Karapatakis, the Hammers overcame a slow start to secure a useful two-goal advantage through Michail Antonio’s neat header and accurate long-range shot.
The tie was all but over when Gianluca Scamacca scored the opener at London Stadium a week later, and was all over when AEK midfielder Gus was sent-off for fouling Pablo Fornals a minute before half-time.
A second-half brace from Jarrod Bowen and a maiden senior strike from Divin Mubama secured a comfortable aggregate victory and a place in the quarter-finals.
QUARTER-FINALS
KAA Gent 1-1 West Ham United
West Ham United 4-1 KAA Gent
(West Ham United won 5-2 on aggregate)
The quarter-finals saw West Ham United face their strongest opposition yet in the shape of Belgian Cup holders KAA Gent – the same club the Irons faced in their very first match in UEFA competition back in September 1964.
De Buffalo’s came out charging and put the Irons under severe pressure, but West Ham defended doggedly and stole the lead when Vladimír Coufal and Jarrod Bowen combined to set up Danny Ings to score his first career goal in European football.
Hugo Cuypers levelled eleven minutes into the second half and his strike partner Gift Orban hit the crossbar late on as Gent finished strongly, but the tie came back to England level at 1-1.
The speedy Cuypers then put Gent ahead at London Stadium before Michail Antonio settled nerves with a headed equaliser before half-time.
Paquetá’s penalty and Declan Rice’s sensational solo goal turned the tie in West Ham’s favour before the hour-mark, then Antonio’s second of the night made it safe just after to send David Moyes’ side through to a second consecutive European semi-final.
SEMI-FINALS
West Ham United 2-1 AZ Alkmaar
AZ Alkmaar 0-1 West Ham United
(West Ham United won 3-1 on aggregate)
Twelve months after the heartbreak of UEFA Europa League semi-final defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt, the Hammers were not about to suffer that pain again.
AZ Alkmaar stood in between David Moyes' men and a place in the Europa Conference League final in Prague, and his Irons completed home-and-away victories to book their ticket to Czechia.
Tijjani Reijnders' opening goal in the first half of the first leg at London Stadium initially gave the Dutchmen the advantage, but the Hammers came roaring back in style.
After AZ goalkeeper Mat Ryan took out Jarrod Bowen, Saïd Benrahma confidently dispatched the penalty, before Michail Antonio bundled in a second to leave the 62,500 inside London Stadium - a competition record - in raptures.
Over to the Netherlands and a tense 90 minutes laid in wait. A defensive masterclass from the Hammers laid the foundations for progression, with Pablo Fornals' injury time strike finally setting the seal on a 3-1 aggregate success.