We're Forever Blowing Bubbles

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West Ham bid an unforgettable farewell to the Boleyn Ground as 112 years at Upton Park ended with a remarkable comeback win against Man Utd

Unseemly pre-match behaviour and a 45-minute delay due to the visitors' late arrival was hardly the ideal start, but that was soon forgotten during a wonderful 2,398th and final match before the Hammers' summer move to the Olympic Stadium.

Louis van Gaal's men looked set to be the party-poopers after Anthony Martial's second-half brace cancelled out Diafra Sakho's early effort, only for Michail Antonio and Winston Reid to secure West Ham a 3-2 win on a breathless and emotional evening in east London.

This was quite the farewell party and one which kick-starts West Ham's hopes of European qualification, while the turnaround saw United blow the chance of usurping rivals Manchester City in the final Champions League berth ahead of the Barclays Premier League finale on Sunday.

It was a night nobody at Upton Park will ever forget and certainly went a long way to making up for the pre-match incidents outside the ground, where the late-arriving United bus was hit by glass bottles and other missiles.

One police officer and a member of the public received minor injuries in the trouble that made way for a far more positive atmosphere inside Upton Park, where Van Gaal's men struggled with the early intensity as Sakho opened the scoring with a deflected effort.

The visitors eventually found their composure and looked set to make Slaven Bilic's men pay for failing to make their dominance count, with Martial grabbing two second-half goals to the audible frustration of the home support.

Disappointment would soon turn to delirium as Upton Park received an incredible send-off.

Dimitri Payet - the Hammers' outstanding player this season - was the architect, first sending in the cross that Antonio powered home before sending in a free-kick that Reid directed in the final goal to secure victory.