West Ham triumph: A night to remember

I wasn’t fortunate enough to visit Prague for the Europa Conference League final. Instead I found myself heading towards Hackney Wick to attend the game in the company of 1000 fellow Hammers.

I’ll leave the match review and player appraisal to others, but as an occasion it was immense. To follow this wonderful club for 49 years and witness a trophy win is something very special.

Some may deride the Conference League as an irrelevance but that’s not how it felt. The whole event had the feel of a grand occasion and the trophy seemed significant. Make no mistake about it, a European semi final followed by a victory puts West Ham firmly on the continental map.

West Ham fans at a fanzone in Hackney Wick enjoy a night to remember

Try telling any of my fellow revelers that the trophy was tin-pot. Everyone basked in the glorious relief of an epic Hammers victory. 20,000 fans descended on Prague in the knowledge that there would be no ticket. They just wanted to be there, to be close to the moment and enjoy history with fellow fans.

East London celebrates a night to remember

In Hackney we rejoiced in the moment with songs about Paqueta and numerous renditions of the Jarrod Bowen song. For many it was just an opportunity to soak it up and to say they were there.

After the final whistle, the various fan events closed their doors but the supporters didn’t want to go home. We descended upon the streets surrounding the stadium in our droves. There were cheers and tears aplenty as many couldn’t quite fathom what had happened.

Outside Hackney Wick Station hundreds of fans congregated for songs and congratulatory embraces. It was quite a scene and felt like a poignant moment. We’ve waiting a long time for this and suffered misfortune as much as any side.

Jubilant West Ham fans gather outside Hackney Wick station

East London was buzzing, the streets were alive and everywhere you looked there were beaming faces in claret & blue. As the song goes ‘West Ham are Massive’. . . and last night it really felt like it.