West Ham 3-0 NK Domzale (agg 4-2): Cheikhou Kouyate nets double Last Updated: 04/08/16 10:18pm
West Ham won their first game at the London Stadium, beating NK Domzale 3-0 to progress to the next round of the Europa League. Holding a 2-1 advantage from the first leg, the Slovenian outfit were in town to crash the housewarming party at the Olympic Park but two early goals from Cheikhou Kouyate erased any hopes of a huge shock. The Hammers, who played a strong side, were never really troubled by the visitors and grabbed a third late on through new signing Sofiane Feghouli. Four years to the day since Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis-Hill and Greg Rutherford wowed the nation on Super Saturday at London 2012, the Olympic Stadium - now known as the London Stadium - finally welcomed its new tenants.
The Hammers will officially open the ground with a glamour friendly against Juventus on Sunday, but required this dry-run after defeat in the final match of last season condemned them to a seventh-placed finish and into the third round of qualifying.
West Ham's new abode was a 54,000 sell-out.
It did not take long for the players to settle into their new surroundings, with Kouyate grabbing his slice of history with the first goal after just eight minutes.
A superb lofted pass from skipper Mark Noble sent Enner Valencia racing through, although he had to check his run to evade sliding right-back Alvaro Brachi.
Valencia cut the ball back to Sam Byram, who made a mess of his shot but the ball bobbled as far as Kouyate for a simple back-heel from six yards out
Kouyate grabbed the second, and edged West Ham ahead in the tie, in the 25th minute when Andy Carroll nodded down Michail Antonio's cross into his path for a neat, low finish.
After the break, Feghouli headed narrowly wide before Valencia squandered a gilt-edged chance with a horribly sliced effort.
Domzale knew one goal would force extra time but they could only muster up a couple of forays into West Ham territory, with Benjamin Morel firing their best chance wide.
Instead, with nine minutes remaining, Algerian winger Feghouli raced onto Noble's pass and crashed in the killer third to prolong West Ham's European adventure and, more importantly, ensure a winning start at their new home.
http://www.skysports.com/football/west-ham-vs-nk-domzale/report/362686
