West Ham’s Antonio doubles up to down AEK Larnaca

Following an anonymous, unadventurous start against their Cypriot challengers, the Hammers finally got themselves into gear thanks to recalled Michail Antonio’s destructive double that saw him take his tally to nine goals for the season with two clinical, match-winning strikes inside the final 10 minutes of the opening period.

Having won Group B with a perfect six-out-of-six record prior to the 2022 FIFA World Cup recess, West Ham returned to European action following a four-month break and jetting from the chilly climes of the East End into the Mediterranean sunshine also brought a warm and welcome distraction for an under-pressure David Moyes.

With his side languishing in 16th place in the Premier League – just one point clear of the dreaded drop zone following their forlorn four-goal defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday – the Scot took the opportunity to shuffle his pack, making no less than seven sweeping changes from the team that had checked out so badly at the Amex Stadium at the weekend.

In came Antonio, Pablo Fornals, Manuel Lanzini, Aaron Cresswell, Thilo Kehrer, Kurt Zouma and Flynn Downes as Danny Ings, Lucas Paquetá, Jarrod Bowen, Emerson, Ben Johnson, Angelo Ogbonna and Tomáš Souček joined fit-again Maxwel Cornet on the bench.

With the fanatical home support – man for man – making far more noise than their 6,000 or so number would suggest, a Cypriot cocktail of drums, firecrackers and flags made for a hostile reception for the Hammers.

Hrvoje Miličević also dumped Antonio on his backside with a robust challenge that left the striker needing early treatment and, after Gustavo Ledes sent a wayward shot into the travelling, equally vociferous West Ham supporters behind Alphonse Areola’s goal, Larnaca forced a trio of corners.

That set alarm bells ringing in the Hammers defence with Rafael Lopes leaping highest to glance over at the near post before Antonio and Zouma were both forced to make hasty clearances ahead of Ledes lofting wide once more.

After being eliminated from this season’s UEFA Champions League, Larnaca had then finished third in their UEFA Europa League group, a position that sent them into last month’s UEFA Conference League play-off round, where they overcame Ukrainian outfit Dnipro-1.

Meanwhile, after also steering his side into second place in the Cypriot first division, head coach José Luis Oltra also had the insurance of this month’s championship round in his bid to again bring European football back to Larnaca next season, too.

As the half-hour mark came and went, with Kenan Pirić having been a mere spectator, it was evident that the Hammers had still not got into any form of rhyme, rhythm or routine, but in a rare visiting attack, Lanzini sent an 18-yarder inches wide of the left upright before Benrahma weaved his way through a pack of defenders ahead of forcing the home keeper to save his angled 10-yarder.

Those brief glimmers of attacking intent suggested that maybe, just maybe, West Ham were getting into their stride and, sure enough, on 36 minutes they took a unlikely lead that totally stunned the AEK Arena into silence.

With Benrahma finding time and space on the left flank to pick out Antonio, the Algerian wide-man sent over an inch-perfect centre, towards the edge of the six-yard box, where the striker deftly steered a well-placed header inside the right upright after getting between his earlier tormentor Miličević and Nenad Tomović.

That West Ham opener proved the catalyst that changed the entire tone of the evening and, after Fornals fired inches wide on the stroke of the interval, there was still time for Antonio to double his tally and give the Hammers an unlikely two-goal advantage in stoppage time.

Downes’ purposeful ball forward from the centre circle was collected by skipper Declan Rice who, in turn, found the seven-times capped Jamaican striker on the edge of the Larnaca area and he duly whipped an unstoppable 18-yarder under the right-hand angle having guided his shot around Tomović and the despairing dive of Pirić.

Just after the restart, Antonio might even have been flying home with the match ball in his kit bag after Benrahma’s defence-splitting pass sent him racing into area but this time his low 15-yarder hit the base of the right post before agonisingly rebounding across the face of goal to safety.

On the hour mark both managers made triple switches as Bowen, Souček and Gianluca Scamacca replaced Benrahma, Rice and two-goal Antonio, while Imad Faraj, Omri Altman and Nikolić also stepped from the home bench.

Scamacca had only been on the pitch for a matter of seconds when he lashed an angled shot across the face of goal, while at the other end, Nikolić also marked his arrival with a 25-yarder that was comfortably fielded by Areola, who then held Faraj’s stooping header, too.

With lively Larnaca taking their corner count well into double figures, Altman also felt the full force of the consequently-cautioned Downes, who is now suspended for the second-leg while the visiting defence also had dig deep to prevent Larnaca bringing any lifelines to London Stadium in seven days’ time.

In the end, though, with Cornet making a brief cameo appearance it was fellow substitute Paquetá – on for Lanzini – who should have made the return leg next Thursday (March 16, 8pm) a mere formality, but having broken clear, the Hammers record £50 million signing could only drill his low shot straight at the lone, isolated figure of Pirić.

Nevertheless, with home advantage, Moyes flies back to wintry England no doubt warmed by a two-goal cushion that should still be sufficient to put the Hammers into the last eight, albeit the savvy Scot knows that he also needs similar victories on that domestic front, too, starting with a result against Aston Villa at London Stadium on Sunday (2pm).

AEK Larnaca: Pirić, Casas (Faraj 58), Englezou, Tomović, Miličević, Ledes, Mamas (Altman 58), Sanjurjo, Rosales (Christoforou 88), Jakoliš (Tričkovski 77), Lopes (Nikolić 58). Unused subs: Toumpas, Stylianidis, Gonzalez, Naoum, Andreou.

West Ham United:Areola, Zouma, Aguerd, Cresswell, Kehrer, Fornals (Cornet 82), Rice (Souček 60), Downes, Lanzini (Paquetá 77), Benrahma (Bowen 60), Antonio (Scamacca 60). Unused subs: Hegyi, Anang, Johnson, Ings, Ogbonna, Emerson.

Booked: Downes (68).

Referee: Espen Eskás (Norway).