After West Ham’s 2-1 victory against AZ Alkmaar in the first leg of the Europa Conference League semi-final, David Moyes acknowledged that the tie was “tightly balanced”, writes the LFN.
Moyes’ team had to come from behind at the London Stadium and will have a slight advantage heading into the second leg. During his post-match press conference, the Hammers manager stated that he believes the tie is evenly balanced, and if the situation were reversed, with his team losing by a goal, he would not consider themselves out of the tie, and neither would AZ Alkmaar.
Hammers boss said: “I think the tie is very evenly balanced. If it was the other way round and we were losing by a goal, I wouldn’t be sat here saying we were out of the tie – and I wouldn’t think AZ would be saying that either.
“I think the game is very tightly balanced. We got ourselves in front, which in the tie was a big thing to try and be at least in front if you can. It was a difficult night.”
West Ham’s Said Benrahma converted a penalty to bring his team level, and Michail Antonio scored a potentially crucial second goal. David Moyes, the manager, advised his players to quickly resume the game after both goals were scored and to avoid excessive celebrations.
He added: “We have to use every minute we’ve got in a home tie. While we’re at home, make the most of it. I’d rather that we just got the ball up and got started again to get the goals.”