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Dinamo Zagreb only needed a point to advance into the Europa League knockout round play-offA youthful West Ham side ended their Europa League group campaign with a home loss to Dinamo Zagreb.
The Hammers had already won Group H, securing their place in the tournament's last 16 in March and, as a result, David Moyes named a starting XI including five players aged 20 or under.
An inexperienced defence conceded after only three minutes when they backed off Mislav Orsic following a throw-in and he curled the ball into the top corner from the edge of the penalty area.
Sonny Perkins, 17, in his first start for the Hammers, would have become the club's youngest scorer in European competitions but headed over from Harrison Ashby's cross.
Dinamo Zagreb, who have won the Croatian league four years in a row, finish second in the group and also advance in the competition.
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Good experience for young Hammers
West Ham have been competing in the group stage of the Europa League for the first time and 13 points from their first five matches had guaranteed them top spot.
That meant they jump straight into March's last 16, avoiding February's play-offs which will feature the eight Europa League runners-up against the eight teams that finished third in their Champions League groups, including Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and Porto.
West Ham's Under-23s are currently top of the Premier League 2 competition and Moyes decided to select the back four that regularly plays in that competition.
That meant first starts for 18-year-old Jamal Baptiste and 20-year-old trio Emmanuel Longelo, Aji Alese and Ashby.
A wonder goal from Orsic in the opening minutes was a tough introduction to the higher standard, although the home defence did improve as the game progressed.
However, the hosts struggled to create chances.
Zagreb captain Arijan Ademi headed over in the first half and Luka Ivanusec missed two chances within a minute of each other.
After the break, a fine one-handed save from West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola denied the visitors and Orsic a second goal.
However, this was a perfect opportunity for some of the Hammers youngsters to get some game time and for Moyes to rest some first-teamers in a busy month for the club that sees them play nine times, including a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Tottenham on 22 December.
Late on, Moyes introduced 20-year-old Keenan Forson and fellow midfielder Freddie Potts, the 18-year-old son of ex-West Ham defender Steve, who played more than 500 times for the club.
Moyes' side, fourth in the Premier League, can now forget about this tournament for three months before some potentially huge challenges ahead in the spring of 2022.
Player of the match
LongeloEmmanuel Longelo
with an average of 7.57
West Ham United
Squad number56Player nameLongelo
Squad number50Player nameAshby
Squad number13Player nameAreola
Squad number75Player nameBaptiste
Squad number42Player nameAlese
Squad number22Player nameBenrahma
Squad number64Player namePerkins
Squad number16Player nameNoble
Squad number8Player nameFornals
Squad number11Player nameVlasic
Squad number33Player nameKrál
Squad number59Player nameAppiah-Forson
Squad number62Player namePotts
Squad number7Player nameYarmolenko
Dinamo Zagreb
Squad number39Player nameJuric
Squad number99Player nameOrsic
Squad number66Player nameDilaver
Squad number31Player nameBulat
Squad number28Player nameThéophile-Catherine
Squad number55Player namePeric
Squad number3Player nameStefulj
Squad number13Player nameRistovski
Squad number27Player nameMisic
Squad number8Player nameGojak
Squad number40Player nameLivakovic
Squad number37Player nameSutalo
Squad number7Player nameIvanusec
Squad number5Player nameAdemi
Squad number9Player nameAndric
Line-ups
West Ham
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 13Areola
- 50Ashby
- 75Baptiste
- 42Alese
- 56Longelo
- 33Král
- 16Noble
- 7YarmolenkoSubstituted forPottsat 87'minutes
- 8FornalsSubstituted forBenrahmaat 45'minutes
- 11Vlasic
- 64PerkinsSubstituted forAppiah-Forsonat 87'minutes
Substitutes
- 5Coufal
- 10Lanzini
- 22Benrahma
- 23Diop
- 25Martin
- 35Randolph
- 58Simon-Swyer
- 59Appiah-Forson
- 62Potts
Dinamo Zagreb
Formation 3-5-2
- 40Livakovic
- 28Théophile-Catherine
- 37Sutalo
- 55Peric
- 13RistovskiBooked at 30mins
- 8Gojak
- 5AdemiSubstituted forBulatat 71'minutes
- 7IvanusecBooked at 44mins
- 3StefuljSubstituted forDilaverat 80'minutes
- 9AndricSubstituted forJuricat 64'minutes
- 99OrsicSubstituted forMisicat 64'minutesBooked at 85mins
Substitutes
- 1Zagorac
- 2Moharrami
- 6Lauritsen
- 12Cavlina
- 24Tolic
- 27Misic
- 31Bulat
- 39Juric
- 46Baturina
- 66Dilaver
- 70Menalo
- 77Spikic
Live Text
Match ends, West Ham United 0, Dinamo Zagreb 1.
Second Half ends, West Ham United 0, Dinamo Zagreb 1.
Dominik Livakovic (Dinamo Zagreb) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Ajibola Alese (West Ham United).
Foul by Amer Gojak (Dinamo Zagreb).
Saïd Benrahma (West Ham United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner, West Ham United. Conceded by Josip Sutalo.
Attempt blocked. Emmanuel Longelo (West Ham United) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Corner, West Ham United. Conceded by Deni Juric.
Foul by Deni Juric (Dinamo Zagreb).
Emmanuel Longelo (West Ham United) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Substitution, West Ham United. Keenan Appiah-Forson replaces Sonny Perkins.
Substitution, West Ham United. Freddie Potts replaces Andriy Yarmolenko.
Foul by Dino Peric (Dinamo Zagreb).
Sonny Perkins (West Ham United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt saved. Saïd Benrahma (West Ham United) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Josip Misic (Dinamo Zagreb) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Josip Misic (Dinamo Zagreb).
Mark Noble (West Ham United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Substitution, Dinamo Zagreb. Emir Dilaver replaces Daniel Stefulj.
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