Danny Ings' landmark goal earns West Ham Conference League draw with Gent
Quarter-final first leg: Gent 1 (Cuypers 57) West Ham 1 (Ings 45)
PA Media
Date published: Fri 14 Apr 2023 14.41 BST

David Moyes admitted the result was better than the performance after West Ham escaped with a 1-1 draw away at Belgian side Gent in the first leg of their Europa Conference League quarter-final.

Danny Ings put the Hammers ahead against the run of play just before half-time with the first European goal of his career. But Gent, fourth in the Belgian first division, deservedly levelled in the second half through Hugo Cuypers. And they could have taken a lead to the London Stadium for next week's second leg when Nigerian striker Gift Orban rattled the crossbar with a scissor kick.

Moyes insisted the Hammers had not taken their unfancied opponents lightly despite making six changes to his starting line-up with one eye on the Premier League relegation battle and a visit from leaders Arsenal on Sunday.

"Overall it was a really tough game, very physical, Gent were very strong and made it very difficult for us," he said. "I don't think we were underestimating them. I think when you get to this stage of the competition, into the final eight, there are not many bad teams wherever you go. I think you will find everyone has worked really hard to be here and they don't want to give up a chance to make a semi-final. We knew that would be the case. We knew it would be tough and it proved to be. I didn't think the performance was good but the result was not a bad result. In cup competitions we know what can happen. We're away from home, facing a strong crowd, and Gent played very well tonight."

Nayef Aguerd had a goal ruled out for handball before Ings struck on his first European start since October 2015 for Liverpool. Moyes has fallen foul of ball boys in Europe before; he was sent off for kicking a ball at one in their semi-final defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt last season. But he was grateful to the Gent youngster who lobbed the ball straight to Vladimir Coufal so the right-back could immediately find Jarrod Bowen, who crossed for Ings to tap home at the far post.

"That's the reason we brought Danny in, because he has got goals in him," added Moyes. "If we create chances, he will take them. We didn't create enough tonight, we didn't build well enough and made it difficult for ourselves. We were more liable to score a second on the counter, but it didn't materialise. Hopefully we can show them a bit more about how we play when we see them next Thursday."

Daily Mail : MATCH FACTS AND PLAYER RATINGS
Gent (3-5-2): Roef 5.5; Piatkowski 6.5, Okumu 6.5, Torunarigha 6.5 (Nurio Fortuna 65, 6); Castro-Montes 6.5, Kums 6.5, De Sart 6.5, Hong 7 (Odjidja-Ofoe 64, 6), Fofana 6.5 (Samoise 65, 6); Cuypers 8, Orban 7.5 (Tissoudali 83).
Subs not used: Nardi; Hauge, Lagae, Depoitre, Godeau.
Goals: Cuypers 56.
Yellow cards: De Sart 47, Piatkowski 73.
Manager: Hein Vanhaezebrouck 6.5.
West Ham (3-4-2-1): Areola 6; Johnson 5, Ogbonna 6, Aguerd 6; Coufal 6, Rice 6, Downes 6 (Paqueta 74, 6.5), Emerson 6 (Cresswell 88); Bowen 5.5, Lanzini 5 (Benrahma 61, 6); Ings 6.5 (Antonio 60, 6).
Subs not used: Fabianski, Anang; Kehrer, Zouma, Soucek, Fornals, Cornet, Mubama.
Goals: Ings 45+3.
Yellow cards: Downes 23, Ogbonna 34, Coufal 87.
Manager: David Moyes 6.
Referee: Anastasios Sidiropoulos 6.
Attendance: 20,000
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