West Ham United despite not being at their best have gained a 1-0 lead over AZ in the semi-final of the Conference League. David Moyes’ team made up for a 0-1 deficit and therefore has the best papers for a place in the final. In England it was concluded that AZ was physically short and that it hardly became dangerous.
English media disappointed with West Ham’s performance
“It was not a typical West Ham performance,” former West Ham defender James Collins told BBC Radio. “Despite all the hype before the game, it may have felt a bit busy and AZ was taken for granted. In the second half, West Ham played a little better and did enough to win the game. But you have to give AZ full credit for what they showed.”
Due to a bang from Tijjani Reijnders, AZ scored a lead just before half-time. However, things went wrong in the second half. “AZ were the better team, but West Ham got the job done,” adds Glenn Murray, former Brighton & Hove Albion striker. “David Moyes would have liked to go to the Netherlands with a bigger lead, because AZ has a history of home games. It’s not about how you do it, but about getting there: as long as you’re in Prague on June 7 (where the final will be played).”
AZ falls short physically
The Telegraph wrote that AZ played a great first half, but that there was a decline in the second company. “AZ turned out to be a tough team. However, as the Dutch squad began to tire, the physical strength and technical quality of the Premier League players began to show. West Ham are capable of playing more exciting football than this, and maybe they should have been more dominant against the fourth best side in the Netherlands,” they wrote.
The Guardian concluded that West Ham did not play a great game, but was not impressed by AZ either. “No one should make the mistake of thinking that the final has been reached. In reality, West Ham struggled for long periods against AZ’s limited team. AZ struggled to hurt West Ham. They built slowly, trying to pull out the stinger, carefully looking for space on the flanks. But openings turned out to be rare,” they wrote.AZ has a week to prepare for the return in Alkmaar.
