AEK Larnaca 0-2 West Ham: Michail Antonio scores twice in welcome victory for David Moyes’ side in the Europa Conference League after a heavy defeat in Brighton put pressure on the Hammers boss
- West Ham beat AEK Larnaca 2-0 in Thursday’s Europa Conference League clash
- Michail Antonio scored both goals in a welcome return to form the Hammers
- It came after heavy back-to-back defeats against Brighton and Man United.
I wish the Premier League was as easy for West Ham as the Europa Conference League.
By beating Larnaca, David Moyes’ men have made it nine wins from nine in the competition this season and will aim for a perfect 10 in next week’s round of 16 second leg.
Michail Antonio’s two goals were enough to defeat the Cypriot First Division side located on the Ayia Napa coast. Some West Ham fans may leave that party town with headaches, but not the players or the manager, after this controlled performance.
Moyes selected a strong lineup, resisting the temptation to rest Declan Rice. The captain was among several first-team regulars who started as West Ham’s qualification target for the quarter-final.
The Premier League remains Moyes’ priority – his “bread and butter” as he likes to call it – and Aston Villa are the next visitors to London Stadium on Sunday.
West Ham posted nine Europa Conference League wins in nine games on Wednesday
They beat Larnaca 2-0 in a sold-out AEK Arena as 1,600 Hammers fans travel to Cyprus
It doesn’t hurt to warm up with a win, although Villa will provide a far tougher test than West Ham faced in this idyllic Cypriot city.
Larnaca isn’t the biggest stadium – 77 of the 92 Football League clubs have larger grounds – but the 8,000-seat ΑΕΚ Arena was packed for visiting Premier League rivals. West Ham’s 1,600 expected a win and Antonio delivered.
Larnaca gained confidence amid a flurry of early corners, with Rafael Lopes’s header missing just over the crossbar after he bit off Antonio.
Said Benrahma looked West Ham’s most spirited player and after half an hour, he pushed his way through the Larnaca box, past three men before testing Kenan Piric from a tight angle.
In the 36th minute, West Ham found their breakthrough. Cross from Benrahma and Antonio, unmarked after getting between the Larnaca defenders, headed past Piric for 1-0.
In stoppage time of the first half, Rice fed a pass to Antonio. With time to shoot from 25 yards, he flicked the ball around Nenad Tomovic and into the top right corner for it 2-0.
Michail Antonio scored both goals and stayed on the edge of the post for a hat-trick
Antonio thought he had secured the hat-trick after the start of the second half, but the post denied him the match ball. Moyes made changes after an hour, replacing Antonio, Benrahma and Rice with Gianluca Scamacca, Jarrod Bowen and Tomas Soucek.
Maxwel Cornet also appeared for the first time since October, a welcome sight for West Ham. A tremendous through ball from Cornet left Lucas Paquetá one-on-one with Piric, but the Brazilian was unfortunately unable to finish.
The third goal escaped Moyes’ men but, nevertheless, they remain nine out of nine in the Europa Conference League.
José Mourinho’s Roma won this competition last season. Moyes believes West Ham can win it this year and is certainly providing a feel-good factor away from their Premier League woes.