West Ham start season with loss to Slovenian team in Europa League qualifying
West Ham's season isn't off to a great start. Slaven Bilic's men went to Slovenia, where they lost 2-1 to NK Domzale in the first leg of third round Europa League qualifying. That's a loss to a team that finished third in the Slovenian PrvaLiga last season.
The Hammers can't blame some academy kids for the loss either. They had close to a first team, with Andy Carroll, Enner Valencia, Cheikhou Kouyate, Winston Reid, Mark Noble, Sofiane Feghouli and Adrian all in the starting lineup. Of course, Dimitri Payet was missing as he rests following the Euros, but there are enough first-team players there that you'd think the Hammers would be able to beat NK Domzale.
The win was massive for the Slovenians, who were playing their first ever Euopean match. Goals in the 11th and 49th minutes, with a Noble penalty sandwiched in between, were enough for Domzale to win.
Things could have been even worse for West Ham, but Adrian made a terrific save late to keep the deficit at one goal.
The tie now turns to London, where West Ham will host Domzale at the Olympic Stadium and most everyone will expect them to turn things around, but even losing the first leg is a surprise.
West Ham have high expectations for this season, having played well in Bilic's first season and now taking aim at regular appearances in Europe with their move to the Olympic Stadium. This obviously is how they wanted things to start.
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