Jarrod Bowen at the double as West Ham storm into Conference League quarter-finals with thumping win over AEK Larnaca

Updated 16/03/2023 at 22:04 GMT

West Ham cruised into the quarter-finals of the Europa Conference League with a 4-0 thrashing of AEK Larnaca that sealed a 6-0 aggregate victory. Gianluca Scamacca gave the hosts an early lead before Larnaca were reduced to 10 men when Gus Ledes saw red. Jarrod Bowen struck twice in two minutes early in the second half before Divin Mubama added a fourth.

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 16: West Ham United's Jarrod Bowen celebrates scoring his side's third goal during the UEFA Europa Conference League round of 16 leg two match between West Ham United and AEK Larnaca at London Stadium on March 16, 2023 in London, U

Image credit: Getty Images

Jarrod Bowen netted a brace and Gianluca Scamacca was on target as West Ham cruised into the Europa Conference League quarter finals with a 4-0 win at home to 10-man AEK Larnaca.

Scamacca notched just his second goal in his last 15 club appearances when he opened the scoring with a 20th minute shot that squirmed through goalkeeper Kenan Piric as the hosts went on to clock up a 6-0 success on aggregate.

Pablo Fornals hit the crossbar with a devilish curling attempt and the visitors had a goal ruled out for offside before a VAR intervention saw the referee upgrade a caution for Gus Ledes to a straight red card on the stroke of half time.

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West Ham stepped it up a level at the start of the second period and a quick-fire double from Bowen in under three minutes put the tie to bed.

Substitute Divin Mubama, 18, added the icing to the cake when he back-heeled in a close-range fourth on 65 minutes to net his first professional goal.

The victory was the Hammers’ 10th win in a row in Europe and means they can look forward to Friday’s draw for the Europa Conference League quarter-finals, semi-finals and final.

West Ham are next in action when they return to Premier League duty in the shape of a relegation battle at home to fellow strugglers Southampton on April 2.

Talking point

A night of positives for Moyes and co with the big battle yet to come. Following the 2-0 victory in Cyprus, West Ham’s progress to a second successive European quarter final in a row looked close to a certainty – and so it proved as they comfortably finished the job at the London Stadium.

There is a real contrast between what the Iron are producing results-wise in Europe compared with their travails in the Premier League.

There has been a lot of talk from players and the manager that they can use their run in the Europa Conference League as a springboard towards securing top-flight survival, but so far that run of positive results on the domestic front has failed to truly materialise.

A revitalised Scamacca would surely aid that dual target and the 24-year-old Italian certainly made a start in answering Moyes’ call to get ‘their Gianluca back’ with the big money signing from Sassuolo netting his eighth West Ham goal.

It was also a real bonus for Bowen, who moved into double figures for the season and also became West Ham's leading goal scorer in European competitions. The 26-year-old netted 18 times last season and although he has been more subdued in the current campaign, a late flurry of form would also be most welcome with the table so tight at the foot of the Premier League.

Player of the match

Gianluca Scamacca (West Ham). There were several Hammers players in the running for the award, but Scamacca just shades it for stepping up in the face of calls for him to recapture some semblance of his best from his managers at both club and national level. Struck the opener and had a big hand in the second, and was perhaps disappointed to be withdrawn relatively early with more goals on the cards.

Player Ratings

WEST HAM: Areola 6, Johnson 7, Zouma 7, Ogbonna 7, Cresswell 8, Soucek 7, Paqueta 8, Lanzini 8, Bowen 8, Fornals 8, Scamacca 8. Subs: Cornet 7, Ings 7, Mubama 7, Laing 6, Potts 6.

AEK LARNACA: Piric 6, Casas 6, Tomovic 6, Mikel Gonzalez 6, Englezou 6, Mamas 6, Gustavo Ledes 4, Naoum 6, Oier Sanjurjo 6, Jakolis 6, Nikolic 6. Subs: Christoforou 6, Pons 6, Altman 6, Lopes 6, Fraj n/a.

Matchcast: Full match stats and commentary

Match Highlights

20’ – GOAL! – West Ham 1-0 AEK Larnaca - (West Ham lead 3-0 on aggregate). Scamacca gets his goal with a low shot that somehow squirms through the keeper after fine running from Lanzini.

36’ – WEST HAM CHANCE! So close to a second. Fornals cuts in from the left and curls a beauty of a strike against the crossbar after nice build-up play from Scamacca.

45’ AEK LARNACA RED CARD! After a VAR intervention, the referee consults the pitch-side monitor and then opts to cancel his initial yellow card and give Gus Ledes a straight red for a nasty foul on Fornals.

47’ – GOAL! – West Ham 2-0 AEK Larnaca – (West Ham lead 4-0 on aggregate). Bowen pounces upon a rebound to slot home from a narrow angle after the keeper had parried Scamacca's low shot from the edge of the box.

49’ – GOAL! – West Ham 3-0 AEK Larnaca – (West Ham lead 5-0 on aggregate). Bowen flicks a wonderful header into the far corner from Cresswell's pinpoint delivery.

65’ – GOAL! – West Ham 4-0 AEK Larnaca – (West Ham lead 6-0 on aggregate). Mubama flicks home Soucek's header from a left-wing corner.