PRAGUE: West Ham ended its 43-year-long wait for a big trophy after beating Fiorentina 2-1 in the Europa Conference League (ECL) final on Wednesday.
The Premier League club netted a late winner through Jarrod Bowen to seal the major victory, sparking warm celebrations inside the Fortuna Arena in Prague.
David Moyes, West Ham’s manager, said after the contest that this was fantastic.
Moyes said that he has had a long career in football but such moments are always rare.
Despite facing difficulties for form domestically, West Ham has excited its fans in Europe over the last 2 seasons.
It was knocked out of the Europa League semifinal contests in 2022 but rewarded its passionate fanbase with a remarkable performance on Wednesday.
The second-half penalty by Saïd Benrahma had given the Hammers lead but it was ended by Giacomo Bonaventura’s effort 7 minutes later.
With the match looking like it was heading to extra time, Bowen was played through by the superb pass from Lucas Paquetá before he calmly ended his chance in the 90th minute.
West Ham’s celebrations
Bowen excitedly ran to the West Ham fans with his teammates in complete celebration
Bowen said after the game that he obviously dreamed of scoring, but to net the winner goal in the last minute is superb.
