AZ Alkmaar 0-1 West Ham: Hammers complete job in Netherlands to claim place in first European final in 47 years

West Ham are through to the Europa Conference League final after a 1-0 win in the Netherlands was good enough to see them edge out AZ Alkmaar 3-1 on aggregate. Despite seeing less of the ball, the Hammers fashioned the better chances and almost grew their lead when Lucas Paqueta cut onto his left foot and sized up a shot form the edge of the box — but it hit the wrong side of the post.

Ad The fit-again Jesper Karlsson was AZ's biggest threat on the left, but often dropped too deep as the home side struggled to break West Ham down. UEFA Europa Conference LeagueHow to watch AZ Alkmaar v West Ham in the Europa Conference LeagueYESTERDAY AT 09:52 AZ brought more urgency in the second half and could easily have won a penalty when Nayef Aguerd slid through Vangelis Pavlidis, but the referee deemed otherwise.

Pablo Fornals took advantage of Alkmaar's desperation in the 94th minute when he won possession in his own half and was soon through on goal, firing low past Mat Ryan to put the icing on the cake. The final will be West Ham's first in competitive European competition since 1975-76, when they were Cup Winners' Cup runners-up.