TSC Backa Topola were ‘punished’ by the brilliance of Tomas Soucek as the in-form West Ham United midfielder secured a dramatic 1-0 win in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday night.
With goals now in five successive games for club and country, the Czech Republic international is arguably in his best run of form since the days of lockdown, when he was establishing himself as one of the Premier League’s most fearsome operators and being linked with a move to Bayern Munich.
And, as Maxwel Cornet swung in a gorgeous cross in the 89th minute with the score 0-0 at the TSC Arena, there was a real sense of inevitability about what happened next. In came Tomas Soucek, like a bull smashing through the window of a china shop, converting at the back post to give West Ham all three points at the death.
Tomas Soucek fires West Ham to victory
The finish, brilliantly dispatched with the outside of his boot, was typical of a man at the top of his game.
A ‘fine’ volley from a man with an ‘incredible’ knack of finding a pocket of space in a crowded penalty area, former Hammers striker Clive Allen said during TNT Sports’ live coverage.
“From our side, (we played) a good game. We regret the result. We were excellent the whole game, we kept West Ham from creating chances, except for the last one,” TSC Backa Topola coach Zarko Lazetic sighs to Mozzart Sport.
“Soucek is always in the right place. We marked him well but that’s the quality, to repeat and repeat (the runs into the box). He managed to punish us.
“We are not satisfied. We could have earned a big point. Competitively, it doesn’t mean much to us, because we need a win in the last round.”
Full steam ahead knockout stages
West Ham, reigning Europa Conference League champions, will be playing knockout stage football again in 2024. With four wins and one defeat from the group stage, David Moyes’ side need only to avoid defeat at home to Freiburg in matchday six to ensure they will finish in top spot.
“(West Ham) are of exceptional quality. (Their squad is) worth eight times more than ours. But we wanted to win, 11-v-11, and fight. We wanted to win,” Lazetic adds, his side forcing Lukasz Fabianski into action on a number of occasions.
“I would have preferred that they didn’t line up with a full squad. But I’m more pleased with the fact that we looked (good). We played well today.”
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
