Into the semis as Hammers demolish Gent

West Ham 4 KAA Gent 1 (Europa Conference League)

It's a welcome respite from battling for points as European football returns to the London Stadium. I'm joined by Nigel and CQ, Fraser and Sinead (wearing a half and half scarf that is the envy of Nigel) and Matt and Lisa. Michael is away spending more time with his West Ham cushions at the White Bear. 

Moyes has picked a strong side, sensing that winning the Europa Conference is the best way of keeping his job. West Ham start brightly with Emerson testing the keeper but soon start to look nervous as Orban misses a close range-header for Genk. Coufal goes down after a worrying clash of heads but eventually RoboCop plays on. 

The Belgians play some neat football in front of their bouncing away crew and take the lead after a series of errors. Paqueta gives away a simple ball in midfield. Orban scuffs over a cross, Samoise mishits it to Cuypers, who also scuffs his shot, which is chested over his own line by Aguerd when he should surely have headed the ball away.

The Gent fans start to flash their mobiles in the fashion of a  Killers concert. It looks worrying until West Ham win a free kick on the right, Bowen whips it in and Antonio gets across his marker to power home a header. 

At half-time Mystic Matt says we've played three halves against Gent and looked worse in all of them and he can see us losing. A quick straw poll sees Nigel predicting a home defeat, Fraser opting for penalties and optimists Lisa and myself going for 3-2 and 2-1 wins. 

But we have reckoned without the power of confectionary. Nigel eschews eating his lucky banana but Sinead's lucky gums soon work some magic. West Ham start the second half with purpose. Soucek clatters Bowen's cross against the angle of post and bar and Jarrod draws a good safe from Roef.

RICE BABY

The key moment comes when defender Okumu stumbles with his hand hitting the ball for an obvious penalty. Strangely the ref waves play on and Antonio hits the post. After a long melee eventually VAR is called upon and after several millennia the penalty is given. For some reason Benrahma doesn't take it. Instead Lucas Paqueta takes a stuttering run-up, does a little hop skip and jump and steers it past Roef having sent him the wrong way. 

That was cool, though we all imagine how irate DC (who is still trying to forgive Di Canio for his poncy penalty against Villa 20-odd years ago) would have been had he missed. The away fans are taunted by the rest of the stadium turning on their phone torches and waving them in the air. You're not flashing anymore.

Something is stirring as the crowd gets noisy. Declan Rice wins a tackle in his own half, gets the ball back from Paqueta and rampages down the pitch. Antonio has distracted a couple of defenders and Declan shimmies round a couple more, runs into the box and steers home a low left foot shot. David Moyes does a dad dance in celebration of a fantastic goal. For the first time in ages, "West Ham are massive!" echoes around the London Stadium.

YOU BLOW MY MIND, HEY MICKY

We are intimidating the Genk defence more effectively than Dominic Raab. Three minutes later Paqueta feeds Antonio who runs at the Genk defence down the left channel. He cuts inside and curls a corker into the top of the net. As Matt says, if Antonio hadn't scored the first goal he wouldn't have got the second. This was what a confident Antonio can do, much more like the striker of two years go.

There's still time for Bowen to have a fifth goal disallowed and Matt to come out with some ungodly language as sub Cornet fluffs a chance when set free. Rice, Zouma and Antonio go off with Bournemouth in mind as the Irons cruise to their second European semi-final in two seasons. It's not as good as the Europa League, but after 43 years we'll take any trophy going.

We retire to Ye Old Black Bull for a pint of Ringwood Razor Back as we watch Maguire and De Gea mess up for Man United in Seville. Maybe our run will get some more attention now United are out of Europe. Walking to the tube we wonder if West Ham could join the Europa Conference full-time instead of the Premier League and develop a fierce rivalry with Larnaca, Gent and AZ Alkmaar. 

We should beat the fourth best team in the Belgium league on money spent, but this was still one of the best nights of the season and more like the old West Ham. Hopefully it will also inspire confidence for the six-pointer at Bournemouth. Irons!

PLAYER RATINGS: Areola 6; Coufal 6, Aguerd 5, Zouma 6 (Kehrer 5), Emerson 6; Rice 8 (Downes 5), Soucek 6, Paqueta 7, Benrahma 6 (Fornals 5); Bowen 7 (Cornet 5), Antonio 8 (Ings 5).