The Hammers kicked off their European campaign with what eventually proved to be a comfortable victory at London Stadium in this UEFA Europa Conference League play-off first leg.
But although they now take a two-goal advantage to the compact 9,600-capacity Viborg Stadion next week, West Ham United know that they will still need to be on their toes in the Danish return if they are to progress to the group stages.
Thanks to just one solitary moment of first-half incisiveness and invention, the Hammers gained a foothold when seven-cap Italian international Gianluca Scamacca notched his first goal for the club following his £30million-plus arrival from Sassuolo.
And although the hosts looked marginally more purposeful after the break with Jarrod Bowen doubling their advantage midway through the second half, Jacob Bonde Jensen gave Viborg hope before substitute Michail Antonio added an air of respectability to the scoreline with 13 minutes remaining.
Having reached the UEFA Europa League semi-finals last time around, the Hammers came into the first contest of this new Euro challenge fielding a strong line-up despite having skipper Declan Rice and Aaron Cresswell suspended after finding themselves in hot water during that last-four exit at Eintracht Frankfurt in early May.
With David Moyes having been red-carded in Germany, too, the Scot was forced to watch from high in the sparsely populated, rail strike-affected London Stadium stands as assistant Billy McKinlay deputised in the dug-out.
Only Bowen, Ben Johnson, Vladimír Coufal and Tomáš Souček retained their shirts following defeat at Nottingham Forest on Sunday but summer signings Scamacca and Maxwel Cornet were handed their first starts in claret and blue, while Flynn Downes and Thilo Kehrer - newly-arrived from Paris Saint-Germain – were on the bench.
There was also a welcome return to action for skipper Angelo Ogbonna, although despite their perceived Premier League might, the Hammers did find themselves conceding the first corner of the evening to Viborg, who sit fifth in the Danish Superliga following Sunday’s 3-2 victory over Silkeborg.
And having despatched Lithuanian outfit FK Süduva and Tórshavn B36 of the Faroe Islands in the early stages of this season’s competition, the Danes certainly started confidently, drawing a handful of fouls in their quest to hit the Hammers on the break, while Jay-Roy Grot sent a low 18-yarder inches wide of the base of Alphonse Areola’s right-hand post.
Indeed, apart from seeing the duly adjudged offside Bowen somehow strike both uprights in the opening moments before legally curling a 15-yarder beyond his far post, keeper Lucas Lund Pedersen had been a mere spectator alongside Viborg’s bouncing band of supporters packed into the lower tier behind his goal during the first 20 minutes.
But having struggled to find any cohesion or creativity, West Ham’s Premier League pedigree finally rose midway through the first half, when their full debutants combined to break the deadlock.
Collecting along the left flank, Cornet burst towards the corner before looking up and cleverly clipping an inch-perfect centre towards the towering Scamacca, who comfortably outjumped marker Žan Zaletel before powerfully nodding past Pedersen to open his Hammers account.
With one goal under his belt, the Italian then forced the Viborg stopper into a full-length save before injured Daniel Anyembe retired as Anton Gaaei stepped from the bench.
And with Viborg looking to overcome the double whammy of conceding and reshuffling, Areola was twice forced to race from his goal to intercept potential breakaways.
In a final riposte to the opening 45 minutes, Justin Lomwijk let fly with a 20-yarder that sizzled through the Stratford sunset before sailing just a foot wide of Areola’s left-hand post before Jan Žambúrek stung the Frenchman’s palms from similar range to leave the Hammers thankful for their one moment of inspiration that had given then an interval lead.
West Ham replaced the hitherto anonymous Manuel Lanzini with Pablo Fornals for the restart but it was still Viborg - having started where they had left off – who began liveliest with Areola again racing out to deny Grot with his feet in the opening moments.
On 53 minutes, Cornet galloped down the left and when his deep cross finally found its way out to Harrison Ashby, the Scotland U-21 defender’s rising 20-yarder was tipped over the top by Pedersen, as the Hammers forced a trio of corners.
Viborg’s keeper then saved Souček’s downward header but on 64 minutes he was powerless to stop Bowen’s 25-yard grasscutter that steamed across the Stratford turf and beyond his outstretched left glove as it whistled inside the base of the right upright.
Having galloped onto Christian Sørensen’s mis-control and doubled the Hammers advantage that would be the England midfielder’s last act of the evening, departing alongside Ogbonna and Scamacca as Antonio, debutant Kehrer and Saïd Benrahma all joined the action.
The visitors made two changes, with Clint Leemans retiring in place of Mads Søndergaard - who was soon booked for felling Cornet - and Nils Mortimer coming on for Lonwijk.
Certainlty that Danish double switch paid a quick dividend when Sørensen sprinted into the left-hand channel before crossing to Bonde Jensen, who got between the newly-arrived Kehrer and Coufal to nod home a goal that simply delighted the visiting contingent, who sensed they now had a lifeline.
Indeed, they might even have equalised shortly after reducing the deficit but thankfully for the Hammers, Areola was on hand to palm Mortimer’s goalbound 18-yarder over his right-hand angle.
The Frenchman’s fantastic stop proved pivotal for on 77 minutes, Benrahma glided along the byline and having left his markers trailing he provided the simplest of cut-backs to fellow substitute Antonio, who gave the Hammers their two-goal cushion for next Thursday’s second leg with the simplest of tap-ins.
West Ham United: Areola, Ashby, Coufal, Johnson, Ogbonna (Kehrer 65), Souček, Coventry (Downes 84), Lanzini (Fornals 46), Cornet, Bowen (Benrahma 65), Scamacca (Antonio 65). Unused subs: Trott, Randolph, Zouma, Oko-Flex, Ekwah, Baptiste, Chester.
Viborg FF: Pedersen, Anyembe (Gaaei 34), Bürgy, Zaletel, Sørensen, Leemans (Søndergaard 64), Grønning, Bonde Jensen (Thorsen 87), Žambûrek (Berger Brix 87), Grot, Lonwijk (Mortimer 64). Unused subs: Kiilerich, Lauritsen. Booked: Søndergaard (68).
Referee: Marco Di Bello.
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