Boleyn’s final game: Hammer falls on United’s Champions League hopes

West Ham win 3-2 after Red Devils’ bus attacked by fans

LONDON: Manchester United endured a pre-match bus attack and post-match demoralisation as their Champions League hopes were harpooned by a 3-2 defeat at West Ham United on Tuesday.

After Manchester’s bus was pelted with missiles en route to the ground, they came from behind to lead 2-1 as Anthony Martial’s brace negated Diafra Sakho’s 10th-minute opener for West Ham.

But Michail Antonio equalised before centre-back Winston Reid smuggled a header past visiting goalkeeper David de Gea in the 80th minute to bring the 2,398th and final game at West Ham’s Boleyn Ground home to a crashing crescendo.

Manchester manager Louis van Gaal said that the pre-match scenes had affected his younger players. “It’s not the first time that it happens, but I have a long experience in football. There are players who don’t have experience,” he said. “It shall have an influence, but I don’t think we have to look for excuses.”





The result left Manchester in fifth in the Premier League and means that they can only pip Manchester City to fourth place if they win at home to Bournemouth on Sunday and City lose at Swansea City.

That unlikely scenario confronts the under-pressure Van Gaal with the unwanted consolation of a Europa League berth, although his side also face Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final.

West Ham manager Slaven Bilic was left to celebrate a first league win over Manchester in 15 attempts, which took West Ham back above Southampton and into a Europa League slot.



“We didn’t stop believing,” Bilic told Sky Sports before dashing off for an on-pitch ceremony involving several former club greats. “We totally deserved it. It was a great night. It is history, not just a game. It is against them, fighting for Europe, late-night game. All the boxes you need for a special type of game was tonight.”

But while the manner of victory was a fitting send-off for the 112-year-old ground, ahead of West Ham’s move to the Olympic Stadium, it was marred by pre-match scenes that saw the Manchester bus struck with cans and bottles.

West Ham vows life bans for bus attackers

West Ham United vowed yesterday to ban for life any fans found to have taken part in an attack on the Manchester team bus.

The match was delayed for 45 minutes as police in riot gear cleared troublemakers who hurled bottles and cans at the bus while Manchester players cowered on the floor.



“It was an extraordinary night full of extraordinary moments in front of extraordinary fans, 99% of whom behaved impeccably and were a credit to the club,” the club said in a statement. “However, we are aware that there were some supporters outside the Boleyn Ground who didn’t act in an appropriate way when the Manchester United team bus was damaged. That was not acceptable and we will work with the police to identify those responsible and ban them for life.” London police said four officers were injured during the trouble, but no arrests have yet been made.

Three men were arrested during the game, including a 20-year-old on suspicion of affray and two men aged 47 and 18 for rushing onto the pitch.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 12^th, 2016.

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