‘I apologise, but he threw the ball very softly’
Rangers. Moyes’s meltdown towards the end of the match summed up a sorry night for West Ham, with captain Declan Rice describing the defeat as ‘gutting’ afterwards. It means the Hammers will not play Champions League football next season, and Moyes said: ‘Difficult, disappointed, but I’m extremely proud of the players, how we played with 10 men. We tried, we created chances, but we congratulate Frankfurt. We give them our best wishes. ‘I kicked a ball back at the ball boy. I apologise for that but he threw it back very softly at me.’ Moyes later joked ‘it was nicely on the volley for me’ but reiterated he was sorry for losing his temper. ‘I just feel disappointment,’ he added. ‘We’ve played better teams than Frankfurt. We probably lost the game in the first 30 seconds at the London Stadium and have been chasing it ever since. I don’t know if I’ve enjoyed the officiating but I’ve enjoyed being in the competition.’ A pitch invasion from thousands of Frankfurt fans at full-time saw West Ham players have to escape the pitch, leaving them unable to thank their travelling support. Moyes wasn’t happy with how Frankfurt’s bench acted during the game, saying the fourth official warned him for leaving his technical area once whereas they burst out of theirs freely. ‘I’m really disappointed with the reaction of the bench,’ the manager said of Cresswell’s red card for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity. ‘You don’t react in that way. I hope my bench wouldn’t.’ On the sending off itself, Moyes added: ‘Aaron gave the referee a decision to make.’ Failure to qualify for the Champions League could have repercussions for Rice’s future. The England international, who is contracted until 2024, with the option of an additional year, is a wanted man and West Ham’s resolve will be tested in the summer. ‘We’re gutted in there,’ said Rice. ‘We’ve come so far as a group. We’re not the biggest of squads to keep playing week in, week out, over 50 games a season after last year. We’re proud as well to go down to 10 men and put in that shift. Many teams would go away and lose by three or four. The way we still tried to defend and get forward as well, with a man less emphasises everything about what West Ham is about. ‘We’ve come so far. No-one expected West Ham to be here. I’m so proud of everyone. The boys went out on a high, even though we lost. In the end it’s a real gutter. They’re celebrating, I have to listen to that, it’s not nice.’ Vladimir Coufal added: ‘After 20 minutes we conceded the red card. That completely changed our game plan. It was difficult for us. We tried to do our maximum. They played like a big team and beat us.’