West Ham’s Europa League adventure came to an end as Eintracht Frankfurt progressed through to the final with a 3-1 win on aggregate.
The Bundesliga side took a lead away from the London Stadium in the first leg and looked unlikely to give that up on home soil when Aaron Cresswell was sent-off for the second time in the knockout stages.
Rafael Borre then put Frankfurt ahead on the night to put the hosts in complete control of the tie going into the break.
That proved to be the only goal of the match, with Frankfurt setting up a final against Rangers in Seville while West Ham will reflect on what could have been had they kept a full complement on the pitch.
The players walked out to an incredible atmosphere in Frankfurt, with the home fans removing rows of seats to allow more room for standing.
It was a relatively even start to the match, with neither side able to take control of proceedings. The hosts suffered a blow as Martin Hinteregger was forced off in the opening minutes with a hamstring injury.
West Ham’s task became an almost impossible one when Cresswell was shown a straight red, as he was against Lyon earlier in the competition, with less than 20 minutes played. He pulled down Hauge just outside the box with the forward through on goal and while Cresswell was originally only shown a yellow, the referee returned after a VAR review to bring out the red.
Seven minutes later, Frankfurt took the lead on the night. Ansgar Knuaff was played in behind, he cut it back perfectly in the box to where Borre was waiting to hammer it past Alphonse Areola.
The Hammers almost pulled one back on the verge of half-time as Kurt Zouma turned the ball towards goal from a free-kick, but Obite Evan Ndicka got back on the line to clear the danger.
Jarrod Bowen got into a good position early in the second-half but couldn’t find Michail Antonio at the back post, before Craig Dawson powered a header straight at Kevin Trapp.
A number of crosses and long throws were sent into the Frankfurt box, nothing falling for the Hammers though as they desperately searched for a way back into the tie.
Antonio had a late chance after being set free by Rice, with the striker unable to get another on the shot to trouble Trapp, before Tomas Soucek headed wide when he had a huge chance from a corner.
David Moyes was shown a red card late on as frustrations on the bench spilled over, with the West Ham boss kicking a ball at a ball-boy, capping off a miserable night for the visitors.
