After Said Benrahma’s second-half penalty was cancelled out by a well-taken strike from Giacomo Bonaventura just seven minutes later, the final appeared to be heading to extra time.
It was a tense and sometimes heated game, and it turned violent at one point when Fiorentina captain Cristiano Biraghi was struck by a plastic bottle thrown from the West Ham area.
The match was decided In the most spectacular way possible.
Bowen perfectly timed his run as Lucas Paqueta slid a fantastic pass through the Fiorentina defence.
The England man broke free, steadied himself, and then beat Pietro Terracciano with a calm finish to delight Hammers fans – who outnumbered the 5,000 allotted tickets – and send manager David Moyes running down the touchline to celebrate his first major silverware of his career.
It means that captain Declan Rice, in what was likely his final game for the club, followed in the footsteps of club legends Bobby Moore and Billy Bonds by leading the club to glory. Moore led West Ham to the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1965, while Bonds led them to the FA Cup in 1975 and 1980.
The victory also secures a place in next season’s Europa League, giving the club European football for the third year in a row for the first time in its history.
West Ham fans are overjoyed.
West Ham’s triumph could not have come at a better time.
At the final whistle, Nayef Aguerd took time out to console Morocco teammate Sofyan Amrabat, but the Premier League team’s celebrations were spectacular.
From 18-year-old forward Divin Mubama, who didn’t play, to Moyes himself, finally a trophy-winner after such a lengthy career in management, everyone was jumping around in delight.
There will be an unwelcome post-script, as Uefa is certain to punish the Hammers for the unwelcome first-half events that left Biraghi playing with a bandage over his head for the final hour of the game, forcing the club to reprimand those responsible.
But that is a story for another day.
The reaction from the pitch and the stands at the final whistle should provide optimism to Aston Villa, England’s entrants next season, and dispel any notion that this competition is beneath them.
Rice was at the hub of it all. He was unconcerned about his future as he basked in the adoration of the supporters who had followed his rise from emerging academy star to full England honours.
West Ham United would not be denied.
When Benrahma calmly drilled home his spot-kick after the video assistant referee intervened to determine Biraghi had handled Bowen’s header, West Ham fans must have thought they had won it.
However, the injury to Kurt Zouma just before Benrahma’s goal disrupted West Ham’s rhythm, and after Nicolas Gonzalez provided the knockback, Bonaventura’s excellent control and shot was too good for Alphonse Areola, who was preferred in goal over first-choice Lukasz Fabianski and maintained his 100% appearance record in the competition.
Areola had escaped conceding the opener in the dying minute of the first quarter when he failed to get down to a Christian Kouame header that bounced off a post and landed nicely for Luka.
Areola should have saved Jovic’s header, which was aimed directly at him. Instead, he tripped over the line. The Frenchman was relieved to see the offside flag raised, which VAR confirmed. Instead, Jovic received an unintentional boot in the face from Tomas Soucek and had to be replaced at halftime.
The game lacked momentum because too many players exaggerated non-existent fouls, making it a difficult evening for Spanish referee Carlos Del Cerro Grande, much like Anthony Taylor in the Europa League final seven days earlier.
Grande maintained control of the competition, correctly booking Benrahma for diving at one point.
But, in the end, it was all a footnote.
Bowen made a goal. Rice was given the honour of lifting West Ham’s trophy.
