West Ham United opened their new stadium with an emphatic 3-0 win over the Slovenian side NK Domzale.
The home side entered the game in arrears from the away tie last week but quickly got the goal back as Cheikhou Kouyate flicked home in the seventh minute.
The big Senegalese midfielder then added to his tally before half time, side footing in an Andy Carroll head down from a Michail Antonio cross.
West Ham missed a number of chances, prior to new signing Sofiane Feghouli putting the tie beyond doubt when he broke free, having collected an exquisite cross field ball from skipper Mark Noble, to lash home.
Indicative of the flow of traffic was the fact that the visitors did not really test Hammer s keeper Darren Randolph all night.
Hammers manager Slaven Bilic was happy with the result, though determined not to “go over the moon” due to the standard of the opponents.
The manager seemed more concerned about the testing programme of five games that his team now face before the international break at the start of September.
West Ham face another two leg Europa League tie, if they are to make it into the group stages. These games will be sandwiched between three Premiership league games – two of which are away to Chelsea and Manchester City.
“We have five games before the international break, this squad is not enough for five games,” said Bilic, who indicated the club will be looking to get at least two more players in, maybe more.
On the up side more games, means more players getting a game, so they will be happier, said the manager, who confirmed that though the club want to go far in the Europa League, the Premier League always takes priority.
The star of the show on the evening though was the stadium, which the fans seem to take to like the proverbial duck to water. Many arriving early packed the bars in nearby Westfield, providing choruses of “I’m forever blowing bubbles” for bemused onlookers. Further renditions of the song rang around the vast new stadium, as the 53,914 fans made their presence felt with regular further chants such as of “if you love West Ham stand up” – bringing waves of fans to their feet.
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