Gent took incredible risk with one key star ahead of the crunch West Ham clash and it backfired

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Gent took an incredible risk with one key star ahead of the crunch European quarter-final West Ham clash and it backfired.

After the pulsating 2-2 fightback against Premier League leaders Arsenal on Sunday, West Ham are back at the London Stadium on Thursday night for the crucial clash with Gent.

The Hammers go into the second leg of their Europa Conference League quarter-final second leg against the Belgians with the score at 1-1.

West Ham’s performance was poor in that game last week and mirrored much of what fans have been seeing from their side in the league this season.

But it was like a switch was flipped and the penny dropped when West Ham sparked into life at 2-0 down after just 10 minutes to the Gunners last time out.

Hammers supporters lifted the roof off the London Stadium in recognition of the vastly improved display and approach from their team.

And they are hoping David Moyes embraces that and runs with it rather than reverting to his risk averse approach when we take on a Gent side who are almost certain to sit back and defend deep away from home.

Moyes and his side will be well aware of the talents of the likes of Gift Orban after the first leg.

The pocket rocket Nigerian forward has blistering pace and almost scored one of the goals of the season against the Hammers last week.

He is the perfect player to utilise the counter attack approach Gent are certain to play in this deciding second leg.

Gent took incredible risk with one key star ahead of the crunch West Ham clash and it backfired

Orban is so important to Gent that he had manager Hein Vanhaezebrouck playing a high stakes gamble over the last week.

Gent took an incredible risk with one key star ahead of the crunch West Ham clash and it backfired.

Make no mistake Orban is the first name on the Gent teamsheet. So eyebrows were raised when he was rested for the club’s crucial Belgian Pro League game away at Mechelen on Sunday.

Gent are fourth in a ridiculously tight race for the European spots in the Pro League by virtue of goal difference.

But with Orban rested in order to ensure his availability for the West Ham second leg, Gent struggled against their 13th placed opponents.

So much so they had to abandon the plan to wrap Orban on cotton wool for the Hammers.

With the score at 1-1 at half-time, Gent were forced to bring Orban on for the second half. It did not improve the scoreline as the game ended level.

And it means Orban is not quite as rested as the Belgians hoped he might be for tonight’s clash.

With European qualification at stake via the league, Vanhaezebrouck took a massive risk and has been criticised by some supporters. He has been accused of essentially put all his eggs in one basket in terms of qualifying for Europe next term.

Juggling squads between European and domestic competition is always a challenge, especially for non elite clubs like Gent and West Ham.

Let’s hope on this occasion Moyes has got the blend just right while Gent have got it all wrong.

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