Domzale double downs Hammers
WHUFC.com
NK Domzale 2-1 West Ham United
UEFA Europa League Third Qualifying Round First Leg, Stadion Stozice,
Ljubljana, Slovenia,
West Ham United have work to do in the second leg of their UEFA Europa
League third qualifying round tie against NK Domzale after falling to a 2-1
defeat in Slovenia on Thursday.
A Matic Crnic double gave the hosts a first leg advantage despite Mark
Noble's successful penalty conversion in the first half.
Luka Elsner's Domzale side were impressive and posed a threat on the break
throughout, not least from their Slovenian international Crnic on the left
hand side.
With Slaven Bilic serving the second game of a UEFA touchline ban, the
Hammers were unable to find a route back into the contest once Crnic has
re-established the hosts' lead soon after the interval and will need to up
their game at London Stadium a week today.
The visitors were dealt an early shock when Havard Nordtveit was harshly
penalised for handball inside the area with eleven minutes on the clock.
The Norway international was booked for his protests and Bilic's men had to
deal with falling behind as Crnic confidently beat Adrian's dive with a
well-placed penalty into the top left corner.
West Ham were not behind for long, however, as the referee pointed to the
spot again - and this time in their favour - seven minutes later.
There was no doubt about this decision as Winston Reid beat goalkeeper Axel
Maraval to flick the ball on and felt the full force of his attempted punch
clear.
Noble is Mr Reliable from the spot and he placed the ball down the middle to
register his 25th successful penalty conversion in Claret and Blue.
If a goal apiece in the opening 18 minutes represented an open start, the
game was not about to close up yet, with both sides putting more emphasis on
their attacking than defending.
Domzale were finding joy down their left flank and the goalscorer Crnic was
left in space 28 minutes in, and only just missed the onrushing men with his
dangerous low cross.
At the other end, Pedro Obiang shot not far wide of the left hand post after
Andy Carroll flicked a left-wing corner on, but the chances continued to
flow and Domzale's Marko Alvir went close with a header over the top.
As the half drew to a close the teams traded chances - Benjamin Morel
curling a free-kick over at one end before Nordtveit headed over at the
other.
Domzale's threat down the left was clear in the first half, and from that
source that they retook the lead just four minutes after the interval.
Crnic was the man on target again, cutting inside before finding the bottom
right hand corner of the net from 15 yards.
Ten minutes later, Adrian intervened crucially with a touch behind to
prevent Jure Balkovec from adding a third and the Hammers needed to regroup.
Midway through the half the visitors shifted their personnel across the
pitch, with Nordveit moving to right back, Kouyate centre half and Antonio
on the left wing.
However, it was Domzale who still looked the more threatening and Zan Majer
lined up a shot from 25 yards and Adrian had to acrobatically touch over.
Seven minutes from time Noble did well to jockey Crnic and deflect his shot
behind, and Adrian had to make a fine double save at the death, meaning the
Hammers did not have to make up more than a single-goal deficit at London
Stadium next week.
NK Domzale: Maraval; Brachi, Horic, Dobrovoljc, Balkovec; Alvir, Horvat,
Majer (Vetrih 85); Morel (Repas 77), Mance, Crnic (Juninho 90)
Subs: Klop, Milic, Vuk, Sirok, Blazic
Goals: Crnic pen 11, Crnic 49
Booked: Horvat
West Ham United: Adrian; Antonio (Quina 80), Nordtveit, Reid, Byram; Noble,
Kouyate, Obiang; Feghouli, Carroll, Valencia
Subs: Randolph, Burke, Oxford, Page, Cullen, Fletcher
Goal: Noble pen 18
Booked: Nordtveit
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NK Domzale 2-1 West Ham United
THU, 28 JUL 2016
EUROPA LEAGUE - QUALIFYING THIRD ROUND - 1ST LEG
BBC.co.uk
West Ham endured a tricky start to their season as they lost 2-1 to NK
Domzale in a Europa League qualifier in Slovenia. The Hammers are well
placed to progress in next week's second leg - the first competitive game at
the Olympic Stadium - thanks to Mark Noble's penalty. But for large periods,
Slaven Bilic's side were on the back foot. Matic Crnic put the hosts ahead
from the spot and then grabbed the winner with a fine solo goal. Next week
promises to be a sell-out encounter, with more than 50,000 inside the
Hammers' new home. Noble's penalty has given West Ham an away goal that
means a 1-0 win in the home leg will take them through. But in front of
barely 3,000 in Ljubjana - the game was moved from the home of Domzale - the
Premier League side faded badly after a bright first-half showing and looked
well short of match sharpness.
Crnic and Noble exchanged early penalties - with Domzale's awarded for a
Havard Nordtveit handball and West Ham's for a foul on Winston Reid. The
home side then went ahead at the start of the second half when Crnic cut in
from the left and curled home. West Ham goalkeeper Adrian had to be at his
best to prevent Amedej Vetrih from adding a third with a spectacular late
save. The Hammers were without last season's standout player Dimitri Payet,
and while new signing Sofiane Feghouli enjoyed an impressive start, he
barely had a touch in the second half. And at the back Bilic looks to have
problems. Michail Antonio was at fault for Crnic's second goal and looked
fragile all night, while former Leeds full-back Sam Byram looked makeshift
on the left. First-choice Aaron Cresswell is set to be out for four months
with a knee injury and Bilic may need to enter the transfer market before
the start of the season.
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THE EUROPA LEAGUE - A BLESSING OR A CURSE?
BY EXWHUEMPLOYEE ON 28 JULY 2016 AT 4:57PM
TheWestHamWay.couk
Europa League 12
This article is written by Armchair Hammer
We got off to a blistering start last season. Confidence was high almost
from the first kick off. We had an (almost) fully fit squad to choose from.
A new manager to bring us a more entertaining brand of football. Some
exciting signings. And the prospect of an emotional farewell to our
spiritual home. With the benefit of hindsight, it was a season destined for
great things. That win at Arsenal set the tone for our entire season.
Fast forward twelve months and our journey begins again.
But it's a little different this year.
We have a new stadium which is a bit of a venture into the unknown. There's
some injuries to contend with to important players. The promise of big
signings hasn't materialised. Our most important players are a few weeks
behind on fitness because of their involvement with Euro 2016. And there's
the prospect of more games.
Loads more games.
You might be thinking - that's no different to last season. And you'd be
right.
But I can't help but feel the Europa League adventure last season was far
down our list of priorities.
This season, I'd expect it to be taken a little more seriously. The club
should be aiming for at least the group stages to demonstrate year on year
progression. It's reasonable to expect that as a fan and it's perfectly
achievable. Exciting, yes. But also my biggest cause for concern.
Cast your mind back to our Europa League cameo last season. We qualified
through the fair play route - which turned out to be a little ironic
considering our dismissal record in the competition. Youth were given a run
out and players like Oxford and Samuelsen were given some valuable game
time. As the rounds progressed, we saw more first teamers drafted in.
The players were gaining fitness. Rather than getting match sharpness
through a series of friendlies, we were having to compete - and win - to
progress. It meant that by the time we lined up to face Arsenal, the team
was already near full throttle. I suspect that was a decisive factor in the
win. We caught them cold.
Now this season, we are entering the Europa League a little later.
Pre-season training has reverted back to type - friendlies. With key players
(Payet and Collins) enjoying a staggered break after their summer exertions,
I doubt they'll be fully fit for the start of the season. Cresswell is out
for a few months and will be joined in the treatment room by Lanzini.
Our search for a striker is dragging on longer than the board would like it
to, I'm sure. Bringing in players from other leagues can be a tricky
process. You often see new signings struggle in the Premiership in their
first season. There's often a new language, new culture, a faster more
physical brand of football to contend with. The later players are signed in
the transfer window, the less time they have to adapt to their new
surroundings before the season starts - and for their teammates to adapt to
them.
Now those are my reasons - and here is my point.
I'm doubting our ability to start the Premier League season in the manner we
did last year - and getting that early momentum that carried us through a
brilliant season.
I hope I'm wrong.
But if I'm not, we'll need all of our best performers at their peak as we
head towards the Christmas run-in. Whether that is to enable us to stay in
touch with the top teams - or keep away from the relegation battle.
The thing is, if we don't start collecting wins early in the season, and we
qualify for the Europa League group stages, the games will come thick and
fast as we head towards the end of the year. We all know what the outcome
tends to be for teams on Sunday's that play in Europe on a Thursday.
For those of you that haven't noticed the pattern - they lose - or draw at
best. Rarely does an inexperienced team playing in Europe win a game the
following weekend.
I can hear you all groaning - telling me I'm being way too negative.
But bear with me. I'm not saying this will happen - I hope it doesn't. It
would make for an incredibly uncomfortable second half of the season.
What I want to see is Bilic using the Europa League to help develop a number
of our promising youngsters. Give them a chance to gain the experience
they'll need to push on and feature in the Premier League. They might make
mistakes - and they might lose, but it'll help them learn.
They might surprise us too - and qualify for the next round.
With our big guns securing us valuable points in the Premiership, we would
have the luxury of being able to bring them in to European games at the
latter stages, safe in the knowledge we have points on the board
domestically.
In case you are wondering, my son doesn't share my concerns. He thinks we'll
win the league - and possibly a cup. That's the beauty of youth - you're not
scarred by history.
What do you think? Am I worrying needlessly?
Are we at that stage as a club where we should be challenging on all fronts
or would you accept a lower priority for the cup competitions in order to
secure a better league finish?
I'll look forward to reading your thoughts.
COYI
Armchair Hammer
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NK Domzale 2-1 West Ham: Matic Crnic scores twice to stun Hammers in Europa
League first leg
By Tom Bennett
Last Updated: 28/07/16 9:44pm
SSN
West Ham were beaten 2-1 by NK Domzale as Matic Crnic scored twice to give
the Slovenian underdogs a narrow advantage after the first leg of the Europa
League third qualifying round tie.
Domzale took the lead against the run of play after 11 minutes on Thursday
night when a shot cannoned off the arm of debutant Havard Nordtveit and the
referee pointed to the spot.
It was a contentious decision, with the centre-back arguing that he was
unable to get out of the way, but the decision had been made and Crnic
calmly dispatched the penalty beyond Adrian.
West Ham crashed out of the Europa League at this same stage last season,
but there were no signs of nerves after going behind and it took the Hammers
just seven minutes to draw level. A spot of head tennis inside the area
resulted in Domzale goalkeeper clearing out Winston Reid with a punch to the
head, prompting the second penalty of the game - and a far less contentious
one.
The ever-reliable Mark Noble sent the goalkeeper the wrong way to make it
1-1, but West Ham struggled to create any further clear-cut chances in a
rusty first-half performance.
Manager Slaven Bilic, banned from the touchline as he served the second of a
two-game suspension, would have been hoping for better from his team after
the break.
But it was Domzale who stepped up a level and the hosts secured the win when
the excellent Crnic curled a finish into the far corner from the edge of the
box after getting in behind the out-of-position Antonio in the 49th minute.
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NK Domzale 2-1 West Ham: Mark Noble scores away goal but Hammers slump to
defeat in Slovenia
21:34, 28 JUL 2016 UPDATED 21:43, 28 JUL 2016
BY ADRIAN KAJUMBA
Matic Crnic scored once in each half as Domzale recorded an impressive
victory in the Europa League third qualifying round clash
The Mirror
West Ham have it all to do in next week's second leg after slumping to
defeat in Slovenia. Matic Crnic scored once in each half as Domzale recorded
an impressive victory in the Europa League third qualifying round clash. The
visitors fell behind after 11 minutes after a handball in the area, with
Crnic stepping up to fire the penalty into the top corner. However, the
Hammers levelled shortly after with a spot-kick of their own when Winston
Reid was clattered in the box.
Mark Noble stepped up to make no mistake from 12 yards. However, Domzale
restored their lead early in the second half when Crnic raced clear to fire
past Adrian. The Hammers must win at the Olympic Stadium next week to stand
any chance of progressing.
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
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