May 19, (THEWILL) – West Ham United booked their place in the UEFA Europa Conference League final with a 1-0 victory over AZ Alkmaar in the second leg of their semi-final tie through a Pablo Fornals’ 94th minute winner.
West Ham held a 2-1 lead from the first leg and they were able to see out the win thanks to that late goal. The match started brightly with both sides creating chances. West Ham went close in the opening minutes when Michail Antonio fired wide from close range.
AZ Alkmaar responded and they had a great opportunity to take the lead when Vangelis Pavlidis was played through on goal, but he fired his shot wide. The match continued to be evenly contested throughout the first half, with neither side able to create any clear-cut chances.
The Hammers started the second half on the front foot and they created a number of chances, but they were unable to find the back of the net. Alkmaar began to get into the game as the half wore on, but they were unable to create any clear-cut chances of their own.The match looked to be heading for a stalemate, but Fornals fired home from close range to confirm their final berth.
West Ham will now face either Fiorentina or Basel in the final in Prague on 7 June. Before then, they are against Leeds on Sunday in the Premiership while AZ will visit NEC Nijmegen on the same day in the Eredivisie.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
