HAMMERS BLOW IS NOT SO SWEET

SC FREIBURG 1 WEST HAM 0

ONE man’s Black Forest gateau is another man’s chocolate sponge, and David Moyes’ recipe was pure stodge.

But Freiburg sub Michael Gregoritsch found a way through the gloop nine minutes from time to leave West Ham’s latest European crusade in the balance.

Moyes (right) had a face like thunder when another Freiburg sub, Noah Weisshaupt, got away with handball in the last seconds of stoppage time.

After a four-minute VAR check, Spanish referee Alejandro Hernandez went to his pitch side monitor and, to widespread disbelief, declined to award a spot-kick - even though Weisshaupt’s arm was raised to field Tomas Soucek’s shot.

Until the dramatic finish, no self-raising flour on earth would have made a turgid contest rise to the occasion in a corner of Germany where every patisserie sells the local signature dessert with about 2,000 calories per slice.

And Moyes wouldn’t have cared one dollop of whipped cream if the Hammers had escaped with a clean sheet.

But after Edson Alvarez coughed up possession cheaply in his own half, Gregoritsch arrived in the six-yard box to roll a simple finish past Lukasz Fabianski from Roland Sallai’s cross-shot.

The Hammers will have to crank up the volume on their gateau blaster in next week’s return leg, but on this evidence they should still fancy their chances of reaching a third quarter-final in as many seasons.

This was a grim stand-off in Stodge City,but until Gregoritsch’s late intervention, the Hammers had enjoyed the best chances.

Konstantinos Mavropanos headed James Ward-prowse’s corner against the foot of a post from an unfavourable angle, while Jarrod Bowen extended Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu into a fingertip save. And

Ward-prowse should have done better with a presentable chance from 12 yards than shovel it too close to Atubolu.

Although the Hammers beat them home and away in the group stage, Freiburg are nobody’s patsies in the Bundesliga, holding Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich (to give the Bavarian club its full name) to a 2-2 draw here a week ago.

Any team with such an alliterative feast in their back four – Ginter, Gulde and Gunter – deserves maximum kudos, and the home side’s coach Christian Stretch reciprocated the respect.

“West Ham are an exceptionally good team,” he said. “One of the six best in the Premier League, and that says it all.”

They will have to prove it in the second leg next Thursday night.

FREIBURG: Atubolu 6; Sildillia 5, Ginter 6, Gulde 6, Gunter 6; Hofler 7; Doan 6, Eggestein 6, Holer 6 (Gregoritsch, 70),

Grifo 6 (Weisshaupt, 70);

Sallai 5

WEST HAM: Fabianski 6; Coufal 7, Zouma 6,

Mavropanos 7, Emerson 6 (Cresswell, 68); Soucek 6, Alvarez 6; Ward-prowse 6, Paqueta 7, Kudus 6; Bowen 7 REF: Alejandro Hernandez

MOTM