By Samuel A. June 7, 2023
West Ham United have emerged champions of the 2023 Europa Conference League winning in dramatic fashion on Wednesday by beating Fiorentina 2-1 in the final match played in Prague, Czech Republic.
Jarrod Bowen’s last-minute goal helped the Hammers clinch what was their first piece of major silverware in 43 years. Bowen with great composure latched onto Lucas Paqueta’s pass and fired home a low finish to spark wild West Ham celebrations at the Fortuna Arena in Prague.
Earlier in the match, Said Benrahma’s 67th-minute penalty had given the Hammers the lead but it was canceled out by a quickfire strike by Giacomo Bonaventura. David Moyes’ side showed impressive resilience, withstanding heavy pressure at times during the game and then striking home in the 90th minute to seal a memorable victory.
The victory ends a wait of more than four decades for major silverware and means they have won a European trophy for the second time in their history following the club’s UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup triumph in 1965. David Moyes also became the first Scottish Coach to win an European trophy since Sir Alex Ferguson.
Moyes’ dad, 87-year-old David Snr, has been on every step of West Ham’s European tour and joined his son on the pitch after the final whistle. “He was the first one, I thought I should get it round his neck,” Moyes said. “He’s watched a lot over the years and I hope he enjoyed it. He’s still going strong, still wants to come to the game. It’s great, it was a great moment to have your family at the game. These sorts of moments as a manager don’t come around too often. You have to work very hard. The family, from young boys, they always want to support you. You don’t get enough good moments in football sometimes but today is a great moment for us.”
A place in next season’s Europa League means the club has qualified for Europe three seasons in a row, for the first time. He told BT Sport during the post match interview : “I would have to say it’s my best day in management because the moments you get to celebrate, have your family here, and win in the last few minutes of the game – we did that against Alkmaar as well – they don’t happen often. Tonight was brilliant, it’s a great feeling. If someone said when I took the job three years ago that we would avoid relegation, we would finish in Europe, they would probably have said you’re mad. Then, to do it two years in a row and get to a semi-final, then to get to a final… wow. And yes, we know this year’s not been great in terms of how our Premier League form has gone, but this competition has been great for us. The players have been remarkable, what they have done.” Their place in next season’s Europa League means the club has qualified for Europe three campaigns in a row, for the first time ever.
West Ham’s match-winner Bowen admitted was close to tears as he celebrated scoring the goal which won West Ham the Europa Conference League. He raced onto Lucas Paqueta’s brilliant pass in the 90th minute and slotted past Pietro Terracciano to score his 13th goal of the campaign and spark wild West Ham celebrations.
“You always say you want to score in the last minute and to do it here in front of these fans, I thought I was going to cry.” Bowen said. “I’m so happy. We haven’t had the best season, myself included, but to do it tonight, I’m over the moon. I think in my position you make that run 10 times you might get that ball once. As soon as you get it you’ve got to put it away. I can’t sum it up, it’s the best feeling I’ve had in my career.” he added.
“When I went through I had a lot of time and it was just about making sure you put it in. The keeper came out and I think I fell over, I looked up and the ball was going in and I thought ‘no, this isn’t happening’.
“I spoke to my family before and said ‘imagine scoring a goal in the last minute’. To bring a trophy to this club is the best moment of my career. The fans as well, seeing them after the game I was a bit lost for words. It’s the best feeling of my life, never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d win a European trophy. I’m so buzzing, all of us are just going to go mad I think. You have to celebrate. When the final whistle went I just thought’ this party is going to be crazy. I’m just a little boy from Leominster who never thought I’d be talking like this. My family are crying and it just shows me how far I’ve come” he continued in his emotional interview.
The Fiorentina manager was disappointed, but at the same time, pissed about one player in particular, faulting him for Bowen’s goal. “It was a situation we know how to deal with, we know how to interpret it and we didn’t do what we needed to. We could even have taken one for the team with a foul and stopped him, but above all we should’ve tracked back and gotten a few meters,” said Italiano.
“Igor had just come on, he was fresh, he could’ve run much, much faster than Ranieri, who was exhausted when he came off. I explained to him that he could’ve done much, much better in that situation. If we had been more focused, we would’ve gone to extra time. “Losing two finals is a horrible feeling, I wish I had never experienced it, but here we are.” Fiorentina lost the Coppa Italia final to Inter Milan 2-1 last month.
