HAMMERS STILL ALIVE
NEVER has a cheeky wink gone down so badly in East London.
In first-half injury time, Lyon striker Moussa Dembele was about to rise to his feet after getting Aaron Cresswell sent off — before winking at his pals, Cristiano Ronaldo-esque.
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A cacophony of boos filled the London Stadium.
David Moyes cupped his ears, snarling and growling at German referee Felix Zwayer from the touchline.
West Ham’s biggest of nights — a first major European quarter-final for 41 years — looked set to be ruined by the French dark arts and a smirking, remorseless Dembele.
But the plucky, inexperienced ten men of West Ham were never going to throw in the towel, especially a team so desperate to eclipse their 1981 Euro heroes of Billy Bonds and Co.
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So, with the odds against them, up stepped Jarrod Bowen seven minutes after the break, pouncing on a mistake by veteran Jerome Boateng to turn this crazy first leg on its head.
Ironically, before Dembele fell to the floor from the softest of touches by last-man Cresswell, Lyon were the ones using every time-wasting trick in the book.
They could not handle the gumption and bravery by which the hosts started this end-to-end European classic of a match.
But a goal down, and a player up, the visitors were forced to play — and got their rewards in the 66th minute as Tottenham loanee Tanguy Ndombele tapped home on his return to London.
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Dembele’s mischief appeared to have done the trick as Lyon escaped this encounter on level terms, just.
But boss Moyes should be buoyed by his team’s response and will believe they can still get their revenge in the cauldron that is the Grand Stade de Lyon next week
The fact the players were a few minutes late on to the pitch for kick-off only galvanised a raucous home crowd — eclipsing the atmosphere created for the clash with Sevilla.
Yet for all the talk of staying calm and not losing the tie in the first leg, just like their 1981 idols did at home to Dinamo Tbilisi in the Cup Winners’ Cup, the hosts shot out the blocks.
That is perhaps why Lyon persisted in slowing the game down with "injuries" galore.
MARK HALSEY
AARON CRESSWELL's red card against Lyon was a harsh call.
The West Ham left-back was dismissed at the end of the first half for pulling Moussa Dembele back.
Was it a denial of a goal or obvious goal scoring opportunity?
It's a subjective decision but there were doubts for me.
Under Law 12: Fouls and Misconduct, German referee Felix Zwayer had to consider: the distance between the offence and the goal, general direction of play, likelihood of keeping or gaining control of the ball and the location and number of defenders.
Dembele's touch took him away from goal and I felt a yellow card would have been sufficient punishment. Had the France striker taken the ball towards goal then it's a definite red card for Cresswell.
I have sympathy for David Moyes but Cresswell was also naive in his actions and he ran the risk. VAR was in operation but did not get involved because it wasn't not a clear and obvious error from Zwayer.
But West Ham combatted this with effective counter attacking that brought about several good chances through Said Benrahma, Michail Antonio and Declan Rice.
But then came the devilish Dembele. Having been put through by Houssem Aouar and heading away from goal, the Frenchman waited for the hand of Cresswell to graze his body.
Down he went, and up went the red card to the dismay of Cresswell.
Moyes sunk to his haunches and was shown a yellow himself for his desperate appeals.
Ben Johnson replaced Benrahma to shore things up, yet no one told Bowen that — taking advantage of some sloppy defending to see his strike deflect over Anthony Lopes.
Lyon took their time to reply, but did so effectively when a chance was put on a plate for them.
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Ryan Fredericks failed to clear a ball off his own line after Alphonse Areola’s save.
It would not be a European tie involving West Ham without drama, and after Andriy Yarmolenko’s extra-time winner against Sevilla last month, there was a sense another was on its way with eight minutes worth of stoppage time played.
Remarkably, it was a select few home fans disrupting their rhythm from two idiotic supporters invading the pitch — the latter interrupting a promising West Ham counter.
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But for all their frustrations, West Ham survive to go again.
The history boys are still in with a shout of a European semi-final.
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