UEFA Conference League: AZ Alkmaar 0 West Ham Utd 1 (1-3 agg)

Dust down those passports for one last time, it’s next stop Prague for West Ham United.

Their European extravaganza now takes them to the UEFA Europa Conference League final after Pablo Fornals late, late strike confirmed their place in a showpiece showdown with Italian outfit Fiorentina on June 7.

But on a night when David Moyes’ men defended defiantly and doggedly at the sold-out AFAS Stadium to protect their slender 2-1 lead from the first leg, their Dutch delight at seeing their Spanish super-sub secure another wonderful win was marred by ugly scenes at the final whistle.

With a gang of rampaging AZ Alkmaar assailants brazenly invading a VIP area occupied by the friends and family of the Hammers players, there were worrying moments for the squad and supporters alike and, sadly, that will grab the headlines on what should have been an evening of East End ecstasy at reaching the club’s first major European final for 47 years.

This Dutch date was the hitherto unbeaten Hammers 14th European encounter of the season and – having won a dozen ties and drawn one – they had arrived in Holland via Viborg and Silkeborg (Denmark), Anderlecht (Belgium), FCSB (Romania), Larnaca (Cyprus) and Gent (Belgium).

Although a heavily-rotated West Ham second string had lost at Brentford on Sunday, they still found themselves six points clear of the Premier League drop-zone with just two matches left to play against struggling Leeds United and Leicester City.

With the mathematicians all but preparing to put their abacuses away, Moyes now found himself fully focused on his side’s European exploits and in recalling his big-hitters, the Scot made another nine changes with only Nayef Aguerd and Tomáš Souček retaining their jerseys from that Gtech Community Stadium defeat.

As smoke drifted into the Netherlands night from the home supporters’ pre-match pyrotechnics, Alkmaar had clearly set out their stall to make a fire-cracker of a start and inside the opening minute the recalled Jesper Karlsson let fly with an 18-yarder that deflected behind for the first corner of the evening.

But as the smog lifted, so did that early Dutch threat as the hosts were thwarted by a couple of offside flags and a battling Hammers midfield looking to mirror what AZ had done on East End soil and take the sting out of the both the game and the home crowd.

As Michail Antonio ploughed a lone furrow up front both Saïd Benrahma and Jarrod Bowen were the wide, supporting outlets looking to break forward at any opportunity.

On the quarter-hour mark, Bowen unleashed West Ham’s first shot of the contest but his low 18-yarder drifted wide of the right post and twice Lucas Paquetá carried the ball forward but twice the Brazilian midfielder failed to find the run of Antonio.

Then, on 25 minutes, the club-record £50million summer signing from Olympique Lyonnais opted to go it alone and, he almost put the tie yet further within the Hammers reach but his clever, curling 20-yarder thudded off Mat Ryan’s right-hand upright and away to safety.

Three days on from the first-leg defeat at London Stadium, Pascal Jansen had fielded nine of Thursday’s starters as he warmed up for this return leg with a 5-1 win over FC Emmen and – with his side standing in fourth spot in the Dutch Eredivisie – he made just two changes with Karlsson and Pantelis Hatzidiakos coming in for Jens Odgaard and substitute Wouter Goes.

Left-winger Karlsson was certainly the liveliest AZ player on the park and with both Thilo Kehrer and the back-tracking Bowen working overtime to subdue the Swede, skipper Jordy Clasie was reduced to trying his luck with a 25-yarder that was charged down by that defiant defence.

Five minutes before the break, Milos Kerkez got the left-hand byline before cutting back to Sven Mijnans, whose low centre across the face of goal eluded everyone in the six-yard box and, when the ball was eventually played back to Tijjani Reijnders, the midfielder’s 15-yarder was deflected wide by the ever-alert Aguerd.

With solid-shield Souček sitting in front of the back four, Paquetá was becoming the Hammers man with licence to roam and having hit that post on one raid, with the interval approaching, he then fired over the top to keep it goalless at the break.

Early in the second half, Kerkez swept another dangerous low ball across the face of goal but fortunately for West Ham there were no Alkmaar boots on hand to apply the telling touch and, shortly afterwards, Alphonse Areola was forced into his first meaningful save of the evening when Mijnans tested him with a low 15-yarder.

AZ had certainly emerged for a make-or-break second 45 minutes with all guns blazing and the French keeper was soon racing from his line to dive into Vangelis Pavlidis’ studs.

At the other end, Ryan was then called into action, when Declan Rice bulldozed forward before unloading a curling 20-yarder that the Australian stopper palmed aside for the Hammers first corner of the night.

Having broken behind the visitors’ defence once, Pavlidis then tumbled under the challenge of Aguerd, however with Dutch demands for a penalty falling on the deaf ears of referee Ivan Kružliak there were huge sighs of claret and blue relief.

But the Slovakian official was not so popular in English circles when he then cautioned both Souček and Kehrer in quick succession for time-wasting as West Ham looked to run down the clock in their quest to reach Prague.

Still Alkmaar kept up the pressure and still West Ham repelled their attacks with Areola saving low from Hatzidiakos before Dani De wit replaced Mijnans midway through the second period.

Yukinari Sugawara whipped an awkward right-wing centre into the six-yard but the red shirts of Alkmaar all arrived too late and, with the Dutch still knocking on the door, Fornals replaced Benrahma for the final quarter-hour, while Mayckel Lahdo came on for Myron van Brederode, too.

As the clock ticked down, it was certainly getting edgy and, indeed, only the outstretched right boot of Areola prevented Kehrer from conceding a bizarre, unforced own goal after De Wit crossed to the far post but, equally, Aguerd and Bowen both could have calmed the nerves at the other end, where two late chances went begging.

By now, an Alkmaar goal would have forced extra-time but heading into the fifth, final frantic minute of stoppage time, the ball fell to Fornals in the centre-circle and the fresh-legged, sprinting Spaniard broke forward to the edge of the Alkmaar area, where he expertly placed the ball beyond Ryan’s right glove and inside the base of the left post.

That sealed both victory on the night and on aggregate and having secured that richly-coveted showdown with Fiorentina in Prague in three weeks’ time the celebrations of both the players and the delighted travelling claret and blue army will go on long into the night.

AZ Alkmaar: Ryan, Sugawara, Kerkez (M. De Wit 84), Beukema, Hatzidiakos, Clasie, Reijnders, Mijnans (D. de Wit 70), Karlsson (Meerdink 84), Van Brederode (Lahdo 77), Pavlidis. Unused subs: Verhulst, Deen, Mihalovic, Bazoer, Vanheusden, Buurmeester, Goes.

West Ham United: Areola, Kehrer, Cresswell, Aguerd, Zouma, Rice, Souček, Paquetá, Benrahma , (Fornals 75), Bowen, Antonio (Ings 84). Unused subs: Fabiański, Anang, Johnson, Coufal, Lanzini, Downes, Cornet, Ogbonna, Emerson, Mubama.

Booked: Souček (60) Kehrer (63).

Referee: Ivan Kružliak (Slovakia).