David Moyes admitted the result was better than the performance after West Ham escaped with a 1-1 draw away at Belgian side Gent in the first leg of their Europa Conference League quarter-final.
Danny Ings put the Hammers ahead against the run of play just before half-time with the first European goal of his career. But Gent, fourth in the Belgian first division, deservedly levelled in the second half through Hugo Cuypers. And they could have taken a lead to the London Stadium for next week’s second leg when Nigerian striker Gift Orban rattled the crossbar with a scissor kick.
Moyes insisted the Hammers had not taken their unfancied opponents lightly despite making six changes to his starting line-up with one eye on the Premier League relegation battle and a visit from leaders Arsenal on Sunday.
“Overall it was a really tough game, very physical, Gent were very strong and made it very difficult for us,” he said. “I don’t think we were underestimating them. I think when you get to this stage of the competition, into the final eight, there are not many bad teams wherever you go.
“I think you will find everyone has worked really hard to be here and they don’t want to give up a chance to make a semi-final. We knew that would be the case. We knew it would be tough and it proved to be.
“I didn’t think the performance was good but the result was not a bad result. In cup competitions we know what can happen. We’re away from home, facing a strong crowd, and Gent played very well tonight.”
Nayef Aguerd had a goal ruled out for handball before Ings struck on his first European start since October 2015 for Liverpool. Moyes has fallen foul of ball boys in Europe before; he was sent off for kicking a ball at one in their semi-final defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt last season.
But he was grateful to the Gent youngster who lobbed the ball straight to Vladimir Coufal so the right-back could immediately find Jarrod Bowen, who crossed for Ings to tap home at the far post.
“That’s the reason we brought Danny in, because he has got goals in him,” added Moyes.
Quick GuideRoundup: Fiorentina and Anderlecht on course for final four
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Anderlecht took a first-leg advantage with a 2-0 home win over AZ Alkmaar. The Belgian side are suffering a poor domestic season, currently ninth in the table – but they continued their fine European run thanks to goals from the Panamanian defender Michael Murillo, and Majeed Ashimeru, who finished low from the edge of the box.
The winner of that tie will face West Ham or Genk in the semi-finals, while on the other side of the draw, Fiorentina have one foot in the last four after winning 4-1 at Lech Poznan. Arthur Cabral struck after just four minutes and while Kristoffer Velde levelled 16 minutes later, Nicolás González headed the Viola back in front before half-time.
Second-half strikes from Giacomo Bonaventura and Jonathan Ikoné mean the Italian side take a three-goal cushion into the second leg. In Thursday's other quarter-final, Zeki Amdouni and Terem Moffi both scored twice as Basel drew 2-2 with Nice in Switzerland.
“If we create chances, he will take them. We didn’t create enough tonight, we didn’t build well enough and made it difficult for ourselves. We were more liable to score a second on the counter, but it didn’t materialise.
“Hopefully we can show them a bit more about how we play when we see them next Thursday.”
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