AZ Alkmaar 0-1 West Ham (1-3 agg): Hammers book place in Conference League final

The final whistle blew and suddenly glory gave way to carnage.

As West Ham players and supporters celebrated a famous victory and their passage to a first European final since 1976, hordes of Alkmaar supporters – all in black, hooded tops – raced towards a group of visiting supporters huddled behind the away dugout. packed together.

Things got very nasty, players including Flynn Downes and Mikhail Antonio climbed into the crowd as punches were thrown and violence erupted.

However, order was eventually restored and now only 90 minutes stand between them and a first major trophy since 1980. Their 2-1 win in the first leg last week proved enough.

Reinforcing that advantage here would never be easy — Alkmaar were undefeated in 25 home games in Europe.

Pablo Fornals provided a late winner for the Hammers, who took the tie 3-1

Hammers players celebrated with their fans before chaos erupted with the home supporters

They had only lost once to an English team here – to David Moyes’ Everton in 2007. For 94 minutes, West Ham rarely looked like ending that run.

Former goalkeeper Rob Green called the whole thing ‘wonderfully boring’ and it was, until substitute Pablo Fornals cleared out the win.

There will be nothing dull about tonight’s festivities or the build up to next month’s final, when thousands of Hammers fans will attempt to paint Prague burgundy and blue.

Suddenly, a terrible season for Moyes could end with Premier League survival and glory in the Europa Conference League. That would be nice.

The section of road here only seats 975, but there was talk of 5,000 making the journey from East London to Alkmaar via Amsterdam.

In the end it was less than half that number, but West Ham’s foreign legion included former striker Andy Carroll, who led a chorus of chants before kick-off. Perhaps those who stayed home felt trouble was inevitable and some of the Hammers got caught in the crossfire when Alkmaar and Groningen fans clashed earlier on Thursday.

Or maybe they were saving their pennies for Prague. A brave move, especially after last year when West Ham’s journey to the Europa League semi-finals ended in heartbreak and farce in Frankfurt. Both Aaron Cresswell and Moyes were sent off – the manager shot the ball to a batboy – while Declan Rice accused the referee of corruption.

However, there was one crucial difference this time: West Ham won the first leg at home. That gave Moyes’ team something to hold onto and ensured that the pattern of this game was set from the kick-off. Alkmaar controlled the ball – as they did at the London Stadium – and West Ham were happy enough to let them.

Moyes’ side was deep, watching their hosts play ahead of them, waiting for their chance to strike. It worked like a treat for much of the first half: although Alkmaar saw two-thirds of the ball, West Ham had the first two chances. Jarrod Bowen swept a shot wide from the edge of the box before Lucas Paqueta curled an effort onto the post after brilliant work from Antonio.

On the other hand, goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, meanwhile, made few friends with his refusal to rush anything.

But as long as the final score remained 2-1, the visitors dice with danger. And as half time approached, Alkmaar started to play with more urgency and the visitors threatened to falter.

But even then, a low shot from Yukinari Sugawara – blocked by Nayef Aguerd – was the first and only time Alkmaar put Areola to the test.

No wonder the home crowd started grumbling against the break. That was to the credit of West Ham’s success in sucking much of the energy out of this fortress.

Unfortunately, the noise level rose as soon as these sides reappeared and Alkmaar found another gear. Sven Mijnans was the key figure. The No. 10 forced Areola to make his first save before West Ham opened up again with his neat feet. Said Benrahma made a brazen attempt to stop their momentum by throwing a second ball onto the pitch and earning a tag from the ball boy. Fortunately, Moyes was too far away to retaliate, but the game was more tense now.

Rice sent flying with a shot from range that needed saving, Aguerd’s clumsy challenge on Vangelis Pavlidis in the area had West Ham hearts in the mouth. However, neither the referee nor the VAR were convinced. No penalty.

Not much more shocking for West Ham either. Pantelis Hatzidiakos tested Areola with another long shot before Thilo Kehrer threatened to shoot the ball into his own net. Aguerd missed from close range late before Fornal’s offense settled it. But it doesn’t matter how you get there – they don’t draw diagrams on the trophy. And West Ham is one step away.