West Ham 3-1 Backa Topola: Hammers survive scare to beat Serbian minnows in Europa League opener… as £38m man Mohammed Kudus stars

• West Ham came from behind to overcome Serbian minnows Backa Topola
• Mohammed Kudus and Tomas Soucek scored for West Ham in the second half
• Petar Stanic had given the visitors a shock lead after an Ogbonna mistake 
• Click here to watch the IAKO Battle of Old Trafford YouTube Special from the Mail Sport Studios

Mohammed Kudus arrived for £38million from Ajax to a great deal of excitement around West Ham and how David Moyes hopes this will be the first of many magic moments for his new man.

For a while, Moyes was worried that he was getting, well, Moyes’d in this Europa League tie. Much like West Ham in the Premier League, Backa Topola arrived here with a plan to forgo possession in the hope that a solid defensive shape might see them nick a goal.

The Serbian visitors took the lead after a criminal mistake by Angelo Ogbonna, leaving West Ham up against it at the London Stadium. Yet this is when Kudus showed his worth on his first start.

Kudus thought the equaliser was his, only for it to go down as an own goal by Nemanja Petrovic in the 66th minute. But there was no question that he scored West Ham’s next goal in the 70th as he headed home James Ward-Prowse’s corner.

On Topola’s approach to this game, Moyes said: ‘We’ve done this to a few teams ourselves recently. We were the ones hunting them trying to get the goal. But in the end they were the ones who got the goal, they caught us on the break, we made a mistake.

West Ham beat Serbian side Backa Topola 3-1 in their Europa League clash on Thursday

Mohammed Kudus arrived for £38m from Ajax to a great deal of excitement around West Ham

Kudus (right) lived up to his billing during his first European game for the Hammers 

James Ward-Prowse registered two assists during the game against Serbian minnows

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‘I didn’t fear the worst. We allowed them to come back into the game. Kudus started bright. He came up with an important goal when I couldn’t see where we would get one from.’

This was a soggy night in Stratford and with Kudus’ help, West Ham were finally able to open the floodgates. Tomas Soucek later completed the scoreline from yet another Ward-Prowse corner, his fifth assist in all competitions this season.

Moyes made nine changes from West Ham’s 3-1 loss to Manchester City and yet his selection demonstrated the depth of the squad. First start for Kudus. First minutes for Konstantinos Mavropanos. First appearance for Lukasz Fabianski of the season.

Kudus brought excitement with his energetic storming in from the right-hand side. That opened up space for Thilo Kehrer to fly down the flank and in the 16th minute, only an instinctive save from Nikola Simic denied the right back the opener.

In the 25th minute, Kudus had a pop from 20 yards, a deflection from Nemanja Stojic sending it wide. From the corner, Mavropanos’ header was off target. Soon after, Kudus likewise headed over. 

As half-time approached, West Ham had managed 84 per cent possession. You would have to trawl back to August 2018 to find the last time they finished a match with more than 80 per cent – a Carabao Cup clash with League One Wimbledon.

Yet for all of the ball they had seen, it still would not cross the line, and then the Serbian visitors fired two warnings. Petar Stanic’s corner was nearly tapped in by Milan Radin, before another Stanic corner led to a Stojic header which skimmed the crossbar.

However, it was a ropey start for West Ham as Angelo Ogbonna’s mistake lead to a goal

The Hammers got back into the game following Nemanja Petrovic’s own goal

Tomas Soucek scored West Ham’s third and final goal of the game in the 82nd minute 

Soucek’s header ensured West Ham began their Europa League campaign with a win

In the 47th minute, Topola scored, thanks to Ogbonna. He dawdled on the ball so long that he left Stanic one-on-one with Fabianski and it became 1-0.

You could hardly hear the celebrations of the 100 away fans who made the 2,500-mile round trip in the London Stadium. Only the gasps of West Ham. Topola may be top of the Serbian Superliga, but even their own manager, Zarko Lazetic, said they felt like ‘guests’ here.

It was Topola’s Petrovic who made it 1-1 in the 66th minute with Kudus in close proximity. Kudus did get a goal for himself in the 70th minute, at least, when he met Ward-Prowse’s corner for 2-1.

Phew, thought Moyes, before another Ward-Prowse corner found Soucek for 3-1 as West Ham got off to a winning start in the Europa League.

MATCH FACTS

West Ham’s starting XI: Fabianski, Kehrer, Mavropanos, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Ward-Prowse, Paqueta, Fornals, Benrahma, Kudus, Ings.

West Ham substitutes: Areola, Anang, Johnson, Zouma, Coufal, Antonio, Cornet, Aguerd, Soucek, Coventry, Emerson, Mubama.

Backa Topola’s starting XI: Simic, Cvetkovic, Antonic, Dordevic, Petrovic, Radin, Dakovac, Stojic, Kuveljic, Stanic, Jovanovic.

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