Frankfurt vs West Ham LIVE: Europa League result, final score and reaction as Cresswell red card costs Hammers
Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 West Ham (Agg 3-1): Follow the reaction after the Hammers lcrash out and fall short of the Europa League final
Eintracht Frankfurt beat 10-man West Ham United 1-0 in their Europa League semi-final second leg to reach their first European final in 42 years with a 3-1 aggregate victory.
In front of a deafening 48,000 crowd, Rafael Borre drilled in the winner for the hosts in the 26th minute, beating the English club for a second time following a 2-1 triumph in the first leg last week.
West Ham, who played most of the game with 10 men after left back Aaron Cresswell was dismissed for a professional foul on Jens Petter Hauge in the 17th minute, were toothless throughout. Hammers manager David Moyes was also sent off in the 79th minute for angrily kicking a ball in a frustrating and scrappy end to West Ham’s European run this season.
The Germans, who last reached a European final in 1980, will face Rangers on May 18 after the Scottish side knocked out RB Leipzig.
Follow reaction from a crucial clash in Frankfurt below:
Antonio believes in West Ham players
West Ham striker Michail Antonio believes the squad have what it takes to produce another European comeback tonight.
He told the Footballer’s Football Podcast: “Every game that we have had to go for in the Europa League, we have come out and won it.
“We were 1-0 down against Sevilla, we came home and won it. It was 1-1 against Lyon, we went there and had to go for it and won it.
“Now it’s happened again, we are 2-1 down and we have to go for it now. I believe we will win it.”
Quite the welcome for the Eintracht Frankfurt team ahead of the match tonight. Just look at the hundreds - if not thousands - of fans trying to catch a glimpse of their players as they prepare for one of the biggest games in the club’s history.
The West Ham players are also in the stadium and are now just 45 minutes away from kick-off. It promises to be a cauldron atmosphere in the 51.500-seater stadium this evening.
Roma vs Leicester City team news
Elsewhere in the Europa Conference League this evening...
Roma XI: Rui Patricio, Ibanez, Smalling, Mancini, Karsdorp, Cristante, Sergio, Pellegrini, Zalewski, Zaniolo, Abraham.
Leicester XI: Schmeichel, Pereira, Evans, Fofana, Justin, Tielemans, Dewsbury-Hall, Maddison, Lookman, Barnes, Vardy.
Rangers vs RB Leipzig team news
In the other Europa League semi-final at Ibrox this evening...
Rangers XI: McGregor, Tavernier, Goldson, Bassey, Barisic, Lundstam, Jack, Kamara, Aribo, Kent, Wright.
RB Leipzig XI: Gulacsi, Orban, Klostermann, Gvardiol, Henrichs, Laimer, Kampl, Angelino, Olmo, Nkunku, Poulsen.
Other European games tonight
What about the other European fixtures happening tonight in both the Europa League and Europa Conference League? Well, here they are and this is how they stand ahead of tonight.
Europa League semi-finals
- Eintracht Frankfurt vs West Ham (2-1 on agg)
- Rangers vs RB Leipzig (0-1 on agg)
Europa Conference League semi-finals
- Roma vs Leicester (1-1 on agg)
- Marseille vs Feyenoord (2-3 on agg)
Eintracht Frankfurt team news
Eintracht Frankfurt XI: Trapp; Tuta, Hinteregger, N’Dicka; Knauff, Sow, Rode, Kostic; Hauge, Morre, Kamada.
Subs: Jakic, Hrustic, Lammers, Toure, Hasebe, Ache, Chandler, Da Costa, Lenz, Barkok, Grahl, Mendes Paciencia.
Eintracht Frankfurt vs West Ham
West Ham fans have been flooding into the squares of Frankfurt’s city centre all afternoon ahead of a huge night in the club’s history.
The Hammers have fallen away in the race for the top four and also look set to miss out on the top six if things stay the way they currently are. So qualification for the Europa Conference League would appear to be on the horizon if they cannot win this competition.
But this is so much more than Champions League qualification for West Ham supporters. This is a European trophy. That doesn’t come along very often.
Eintracht Frankfurt vs West Ham
No Eintracht Frankfurt team news just yet, but expect that in the next 15 minutes or so.
West Ham line up how many would have expected them to do so this evening. No real surprises from David Moyes.
Now it is down to the players to prove they have what it takes to reach the Europa League final.
West Ham team news
Here is your West Ham team for tonight’s game.
West Ham XI: Areola; Coufal, Zouma, Dawson, Cresswell; Rice, Soucek; Bowen, Lanzini, Fornals; Antonio.
Subs: Fabianski, Randolph, Alese, Johnson, Masuaku, Fredericks, Diop, Noble, Kral, Vlasic, Benrahma, Yarmolenko.
Moyes eyes European final
David Moyes is hoping it is finally his turn to win a trophy at the climax of West Ham’s march through Europe – and that his father will be there to see it.
Moyes said: “You know as a manager there are other big things, like to win a game at Preston North End to get to a play-off final.
“There are lots of games throughout your career, so when you get to a big one you think ‘it’s big’. But there’s lots of big games, lots of ups and downs.
“It’s hard to be a winner all the time because everyone is fighting for that prize. But when you get this close you are thinking ‘is this my turn, my chance?’ I hope this is my turn.
“My dad’s coming tomorrow, and I hope my son takes me to matches when I’m 86. My brother’s bringing my dad and it’s great he can see us at this stage. I hope we give him a night to remember.
“If he saw us win tomorrow it would be special, and even better if it was the final. He wants it to be and so do I. The biggest thing is he enjoys it, and the biggest thing for me is we get to the final.”
West Ham boss Moyes hoping it’s his turn for glory ahead of Europa League semi-final
The Scot will have his dad at the game watching.
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