West Ham claimed a vital win against Backa Topola to gain a play off spot in the knockout stages of the Europa League.

Should David Moyes’ side beat Freiburg in the final match, who we are level on points with at top of Group A, then top spot will be secured, which would skip the playoff round.

The win in Serbia though wasn’t a pretty one, as West Ham has to dig deep to grind out the win, which came in the dying stages thanks to another Tomas Soucek winner, which was assisted by Max Cornet.

Ultimately it was the result that mattered, with the Hammers boss Moyes delighted that West Ham will again see European football next year.

“If you’d said to me at the start of the competition when I saw the group, would I take finishing second in the group and being in Europe, I’d have done that no problem,” Moyes told the club’s Official Website.

“We’re still top of the group and I want to stay there so what we need is a big night at the stadium with a big crowd behind us so that we can try and win the group.”

Our Podcast co-host and club insider ExWHUEmployee spoke of his delight in seeing the win secured, but admitted the nature of the wins of late are strange, with another less than convincing overall display.

“It wasn’t a very good performance again and yet we come away with the maximum points,” stated Ex after the game.

“It’s a very strange period but if we keep winning I’m not going to complain, and we need to finish top of the group which makes the final tie with Freiburg very important now.”