Stoke 2 - 1 West HamMame Biram Diouf strikes late as Stoke dent West Ham’s European ambitions
Home team scorersGiannelli Imbula 55
Mame Diouf 88
Away team scorersMichail Antonio 23
West Ham United will be relying on Manchester United to do them a favour in the FA Cup final after their hopes of confirming their place in Europe next season were put in doubt by a needless 2-1 defeat at Stoke City.
Slaven Bilic’s side looked set to hold off Southampton in the battle for sixth place after Michail Antonio gave them an early lead but they were unable to resist a determined fightback from Stoke, who ended a dismal winless run and secured a top-half finish thanks to goals from Giannelli Imbula and Mame Biram Diouf in the second half, but finishing seventh means that the Hammers will qualify for the Europa League only if United beat Crystal Palace at Wembley on Saturday.
Live Arsenal finish second after Tottenham collapse: Premier League clockwatch – live!
Minute-by-minute report: Follow all the action as the 2015-16 season wraps up, with Tom Bryant
Read more
They knew that a win would guarantee European football next season and the only possible disappointment for the visitors when Mike Jones blew for half-time was their failure to add to Antonio’s opener in the 23rd minute.
They looked leggy at first, which was understandable bearing in mind how much effort and emotion they put into beating United in the final game at Upton Park last week, but Bilic’s side played some composed and graceful football once they had loosened their limbs and shaken themselves clear of any lingering rust.
A long passing sequences in the moments before they took the lead suggested that West Ham were beginning to take control of the game, with the nimble Manuel Lanzini dictating play in midfield, and they went ahead when Stoke failed to deal with a corner in the 23rd minute.
Lanzini’s high corner towards the edge of the area was headed back into the middle by Winston Reid and although there was a hint of handball as Antonio brought the ball down with his chest, the winger swivelled and drove a low finish past Shay Given for his 13th goal of the season and his second in the space of six days.
Stoke were in disarray at the back for long spells and the mood in the stands was toxic as West Ham strained to double their lead and they did not have a meaningful effort on goal until Bojan Krkic sent an effort wide in the 39th minute.
However Stoke were spared further punishment, largely because of profligate finishing from Diafra Sakho. The striker lacked conviction when he had two clear sights of goal in the first half and when he was presented with a glorious opportunity after excellent work down the right from Antonio shortly after half-time, the unmarked Sakho shot straight at Given from six yards out.
Having ridden their luck, the hosts belatedly stirred and West Ham were made to pay for their wastefulness when Imbula equalised with Stoke’s first effort on target in the 55th minute. There was nothing Darren Randolph could to keep out a powerful low shot from the midfielder that fizzed into the bottom left corner.
With Southampton winning against Palace, West Ham needed a goal. Yet more shoddy finishing, combined with some last-ditch defending from Stoke, left them frustrated and they knew that it was not going to be their day when Cheikhou Kouyaté’s overhead kick was hacked off the line by Glenn Whelan.
Instead Stoke breathed some positivity back into the Britannia Stadium when Diouf took advantage of atrocious marking at a corner to head in the decisive goal in the 89th minute.
Guardian
