Gent red-hot forward, Gift Orban fired blank as is club rallied round to prevent West Ham from running away with a win in the first leg of the Europa Conference League.
Orban who have been instrument for Gent since he joined the club this season did not complete the game as he was substituted in the 83rd minute.
Danny Ings scored his first European goal, but West Ham’s winning streak on the continent was ended by a 1-1 draw at Gent in Belgium.
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On the stroke of half-time, Ings tucked away Jarrod Bowen’s cross, thanks in no small part to a Gent ball boy, to give Gent the lead in the first leg of the Europa Conference League quarter-final.
However, West Ham’s defending let them down after the break, allowing Gent forward Hugo Cuypers to equalize, leaving the tie finely poised for the second leg at the London Stadium next week.
The Hammers may be struggling in the Premier League, but their European exploits – they came into this game with a perfect 10 out of 10 win record – have raised genuine hopes that a disappointing season could yet turn into a memorable one with their first trophy in 43 years.
The visitors, on the other hand, had a ragged first half, with Ben Johnson making a timely block to prevent Cuypers from firing home, and both Kamil Piatkowski and Joseph Okumu heading over from corners.
Gent goalkeeper Davy Roef dropped Bowen’s corner under pressure from Nayef Aguerd, but a VAR check ruled it out for handball by the Moroccan defender.
They did, however, take the lead on the stroke of halftime, when Vladimir Coufal caught Gent off guard with a quick throw.
Boss David Moyes has previously been sent off for kicking a ball at a ball boy during their semi-final defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt last season.
But he was grateful to Gent’s youngster, who lobbed the ball straight to Coufal, allowing the right-back to immediately find Bowen in the box.
Bowen squared the ball across goal, and Ings, making his first European appearance since October 2015 for Liverpool, tapped in at the far post.
The goal was subject to another VAR review, this time for offside, but the decision went in the Hammers’ favor, much to the delight of the 1,000 visiting fans crammed into the opposite corner.
Gent, on the other hand, drew level in the 57th minute when West Ham failed to track their runners.
Cuypers easily sidestepped Johnson before finishing past Hammers keeper Alphonse Areola after Angelo Ogbonna was nutmegged.
Bowen had a chance to put West Ham back in front after being sent through by Lucas Paqueta, but his chip over Roef went wide, while Gent’s Nigerian striker Gift Orban hit the crossbar with an overhead kick.
In stoppage time, home defender Piatkowski was sent off, then reinstated after a review, for bringing down Paqueta.
Moyes was enraged that Gent were given the ball as his team chased a winner, but the final whistle blew and it’s all to play for in seven days.