Flynn Downes has given his West Ham United-supporting Mum and Dad plenty to enjoy on their travels over land and sea this season.
The lifelong Hammers have seen their son help their team to UEFA Europa Conference League wins at Viborg, Anderlecht, FCSB and AEK Larnaca, and were in the stands again as the combative midfielder gave a typically wholehearted performance in Thursday’s 1-1 quarter-final first-leg draw with KAA Gent in Belgium.
Downes put in a shift, as did to help the Irons secure a vital Premier League win at Fulham last weekend, to slow a determined, aggressive and talented Gent side who came from behind to send the tie back to London on a knife edge.
Despite the difficulties they had in Flanders, the No14 believes West Ham will have enough to eliminate the Belgian Cup holders on home turf and take another step towards the final, and is determined to give his parents another memorable evening out in Prague on 7 June.
“They love it!” he confirmed. “They came out yesterday (Wednesday) and are taking it all in, as I’m sure all the supporters are. The support was unbelievable again and we really appreciate that and we need it when games are like that one tonight. I can’t thank them enough.
“Mum and Dad love it and I’d love to take them to Prague so let’s get us there.”
The 24-year-old had to be particularly careful himself in Gent after receiving an early yellow card from Greek referee Tasos Sidiropoulos for a foul on Hong Hyun-seok, but retained his composure to complete 74 minutes before being withdrawn.
“We didn't lose, so we’ve got to look at the positives, especially when you come back from home,” he began. “They're a good team that play good football, as we saw tonight but, like I said, we didn't play our best but we got a draw so we’ll take it back to London Stadium.
“I think they set up really well, to be fair to them. They were very aggressive and when they got the ball, they kept it. We didn't, it’s as simple as that really. We got the ball and we didn't know what to do with it, which isn’t ideal, but we go back to the drawing board, go back home now and get back to work and look forward to next week.
“I’m putting in a lot of hard work so it’s definitely it's nice to get a few minutes, but I’d like to play a bit better than that which is frustrating, but it is what is and you are going to have ups and downs, so I’ll just keep going back to the grind.”
For Downes, every European appearance adds to his education, with his career up to this season having been played exclusively in England’s EFL.
On Thursday, there were bookings, a disallowed goal, a goal awarded after a VAR review and finally the late sending-off of Gent’s Polish defender Kamil Piątkowski that was rescinded after Sidiropoulos had been called to the pitchside monitor.
“It was a dramatic game, to say the least, a both ends!” Downes smiled. “It's a bit mad when you play in this Conference League because it's not like back home. It's so different, the atmosphere is different, but that's why coming here and getting a draw is a good result.”
