David Moyes hails ‘brilliant achievement’ as West Ham continue European journey

Hammers enjoy another memorable European night in east London
Special: Moyes tells West Ham fans to savour the days of a European adventure
AFP via Getty Images
Jonathan Gorrie20 April 2023

David Moyes hailed his West Ham squad after they made it into back-to-back European semi-finals.

The Hammers came from behind at the London Stadium to beat Gent 4-1 and win the tie 5-1 on aggregate.

A Michail Antonio header cancelled out the opener from Hugo Cuypers before the home side turned on the style in the second-half.

In fewer than eight minutes, Lucas Paqueta, Declan Rice and a second goal from Antonio had booked their spot in the Europa Conference League final four.

Having reached same stage of the Europa League last season, Moyes believes his team are building a platform in continental competition.

"It is a brilliant achievement,” said the Scot.

“To do it two years in a row is special, it really is. It doesn’t happen very often so we’ll look forward to that semi-finals.

"It’s been tough. We’ve had so many positive things coming from European football that it has built a great relationship with the players. It was really important we got to the semi-finals. Gent caused us problems and we had to work hard for the win.”

Dutch side AZ Alkmaar await in the semi-finals, with the first leg in east London on Thursday May 11th before the return fixture a week later.

Of Alkmaar, Moyes added: “AZ Alkmaar have had good momentum all year and have a good young team with lots of new talent. It will be a really hard game.”

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