Europa League: We lost to Frankfurt from the first minute – Moyes

West Ham boss David Moyes has admitted that his side lost the Europa League semi-final in the first leg at the London Stadium where they suffered a 2-1 loss to Bundesliga side, Eintracht Frankfurt.

The manager who also apologised for kicking a ball at a ball boy after being sent off 12 minutes from the game said the tie was lost in the first minute of it.

The Hammers also saw defender Aaron Cresswell shown a red card during their acrimonious Europa League semi-final defeat.

Moyes was sent from the touchline for angrily booting the ball back towards the ball boy who had retrieved it.

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“I have to apologise for kicking the ball. “The ball boy left it short nicely on the volley for me. I apologise for it. It didn’t hit him, I think I bent it past him,” Moyes said.

Moyes still proud of players

His team finally lost 1-0 on the night and 3-1 on aggregate. Ansgar Knauff gave Frankfurt the lead after 49 seconds in a 2-1 win in London – and set up Rafael Borre for the only goal at Deutsche Bank Park.

🦅 Frankfurt become the first German side to appear in both the UEFA Cup and Europa League final! 👏#UEL pic.twitter.com/HrnNcng8y0

— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) May 5, 2022

“Let’s be honest, we probably lost the game in the first few seconds at London Stadium when we conceded,” Moyes said.

“We were chasing the game since.”

Frankfurt will now face Rangers in the final. The wait for a trophy for West Ham exte ds into 44 years as it stands. They are currently seventh in the Premier League, which would bring them a Europa Conference League spot.

✅ 2022 Europa League final set

Meet the two teams in contention for silverware in Sevilla 🏆👇#UELfinal | #UEL

— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) May 5, 2022

“I am really proud of the players. How they played with 10 men was fantastic. They stayed in it. Other teams would have folded and lost two or three,” Moyes said.

“I thought we had better chances than Frankfurt. But we congratulate them. They go through, we don’t and we give them our best wishes.”