Danny Ings scored the first European goal of his career but West Ham’s winning streak on the continent this season was ended by a 1-1 draw away at Belgian side Gent.
Ings tucked away Jarrod Bowen’s cross on the stroke of half-time – thanks in no small part to a Gent ball boy – to give them the lead in the first leg of the Europa Conference League quarter-final. West Ham’s defending let them down after the break as they allowed Gent forward Hugo Cuypers to equalise, leaving the tie finely poised.
The Hammers may be struggling in the Premier League, but their European exploits have raised hopes that a largely disappointing season could end with a first major trophy in 43 years. David Moyes’ side came into this game with a perfect 10 out of 10 win record in the Conference League this season, but struggled to maintain that form.
It was a ragged first half from the visitors, with Ben Johnson making a timely block to prevent Cuypers from firing home while both Kamil Piatkowski and Joseph Okumu headed over from corners. West Ham thought they had taken the lead, against the run of play, when Gent keeper Davy Roef dropped Bowen’s corner under pressure from Nayef Aguerd, but a VAR check spotted a handball from the Morocco defender.
West Ham did edge in front on the stroke of half-time when Vladimir Coufal caught Gent napping with a quickly-taken throw. The right-back found Bowen in the box and his cross was tapped in at the far post by Ings, making his first European start since October 2015, when the forward was at Liverpool.
Moyes has fallen foul of ball boys in Europe before – he was sent off for kicking a ball at one in last season’s semi-final defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt – but he will have been grateful to the local youngster who lobbed the ball straight to Coufal this time. The goal was subject to another VAR check, this time for offside, but the decision went the Hammers’ way to delight the 1,000 visiting fans at the Ghelamco Arena.
Gent continued to press in the second half and dragged themselves level in the 57th minute when West Ham failed to track their runners. Angelo Ogbonna was nutmegged and Cuypers sidestepped Johnson too easily before finishing past the visiting keeper, Alphonse Areola.
Bowen could have put West Ham back in front after he was sent through by Lucas Paquetá, only for his shot to roll wide. Gent’s Nigerian striker Gift Orban then hit the top of the crossbar with an overhead kick. There was confusion in stoppage time when Piatkowski was sent off, then reinstated after a VAR review, after tackling Paquetá on the edge of the area.
Moyes was unhappy that Gent were given the ball back after the incident, but moments later the final whistle blew and it is all to play at the London Stadium next week. The winners will face either AZ or Anderlecht in the semi-finals.
