West Ham had to wait till 73rd minute to get the only goal of the game through a Lucas Paqueta volley. It was against the same side the Hammers had lost 2-1 in the reverse fixture.
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West Ham United had to dig deep to register a crucial win over Olympiacos in the Europa League. The Premier League side had to wait till 73rd minute to get the only goal of the game through a Lucas Paqueta volley. It was against the same side the Hammers had lost 2-1 in the reverse fixture. Hence, the win on Thursday night would have been even more important. It was a professional display by West Ham, as they did just about enough to get over the line.
Manager David Moyes was understandably happy with the team’s result even though he felt that they could have done more in attack. “It was a big win. We were a bit gritty, we could have done some things better, but overall winning the games in Europe is really important. Tonight was a tough opponent, it really was, and it proved that way at Olympiacos and it was again tonight,” Moyes, quoted on the club’s website, said after the match.
He added: “We’re back on track with a victory after going 17 unbeaten prior to the last game at Olympiacos. We could have nearly got an equaliser there. It was 2-1 there and tonight we’ve won 1-0 and it was close, but I thought we were the better team. I thought we made the better chances, they only had one right at the end really. Our goalkeeper didn’t have many saves to make, so I thought overall we got our deserved result. We didn’t play brilliantly well, but we played well enough to just about ease it.”
Moyes also insisted that he wanted his team to be more creative on the pitch, as he believed that they did not make enough opportunities. “I want more, I want it to be better. I want us to be more creative. I think we put out a really attacking team tonight which gave us every chance of doing it, but if I was being honest I don’t think we made enough chances or opportunities and I need to look to see why that was the case. But, hey, if you win 1-0 it’s always a good result.”
Finally, the West Ham manager spoke about the massive support they got from the home fans on the night. “We had a great support tonight, over 50,000 of our fans. It’s a great crowd for a group stage game. Look, we’ve had some great nights here – Seville will always be in my memory and that for me is the benchmark. We want to have more nights like that,” he elaborated.
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