West Ham 2-2 Astra Giurgiu: James Collins red card sees Hammers throw away two-goal lead in first leg of Europa League qualifier

• Enner Valencia nets first-half opener for West Ham before going off injured in Europa League
• Mauro Zarate doubles Hammers advantage before James Collins gets sent off
• Fernando Boldrin pulls one back for Astra Giurgiu with 20 minutes to go
• Angelo Ogbonna then puts through his own net on West Ham debut to level score
• West Ham boss Slaven Bilic sent to the stands late on by the referee 

By Sami Mokbel for the Daily Mail

Published: 15:39 EST, 30 July 2015 | Updated: 02:07 EST, 31 July 2015

You couldn't help but smile at the irony of it all.

West Ham, who were handed their route into European football courtesy of the Fair Play League, received their third red card in five Europa League qualifiers.

This time it was James Collins who was given his marching orders - following the same path as Diafra Sakho and James Tomkins in previous rounds.

Enner Valencia rose at the far post to open the scoring for West Ham after 23 minutes at Upton Park

The Ecuadorian striker celebrating at Upton Park after netting in the Europa League qualifier on Thursday night

Mauro Zarate (left) then struck to double West Ham's lead after half-time as they appeared to be cruising

Zarate jumping for joy in front of the West Ham fans after striking against Astra Giurgiu to make it 2-0

James Collins being shown a red card for a second bookable offence during the second half

Fernando Boldrin celebrating pulling one back for Astra Giurgiu with just under 20 minutes to go at Upton Park

West Ham defender Angelo Ogbonna (left) then beat his own goalkeeper Adrian to level the score in the closing stages

And to complete the farce, manager Slaven Bilic was sent to the stands in the closing stages for arguing with referee Adrien Jaccottet over a challenge on Dimitri Payet.

Bilic must be pondering whether this European football malarkey is worth the hassle.

The Croatian watched his side throw away a two-goal lead against Astra Giurgiu to set up a nervy second-leg next week.

And, just nine days before the Premier League kicks off, both Joey O'Brien and Enner Valencia sustained injuries to leave Bilic nursing a headache.

Bilic is hopeful O'Brien can shake off a slight hamstring strain ahead of next week's second leg.

However, the Hammers boss admits he is fearing the worst for Valencia, who suffered damaged knee ligaments.

The Ecuadorian will undergo a scan on Friday to determine the seriousness of the injury, but he looks certain to miss the opening weeks of the new season.

The injuries served to compound the misery for Bilic on a difficult night.

Bilic, who felt Collins' sending off was harsh, refused to criticise the referee despite being sent to the stands.

The former West Ham defender, who insisted he didn't swear at the Swiss official in the incident that led to his dismissal, admitted the result makes hits life difficult ahead of the visit to the Emirates Stadium on August 9.

'This is not ideal, we are preparing for the Premier League, but it's not the way we would do it,' said Bilic.

'But, in some ways, it helps because we are playing competitive games. The travelling is also a problem.'

And it started swimmingly for the Hammers as they took a 17th minute lead.

West Ham midfielder Mark Noble (left) battles for possession with Takayuki Seto of Astra Giurgiu

Hammers boss Slaven Bilic watches on from the sidelines while surrounded by bubbles

West Ham midfielder Dimitri Payet tackles Filipe Teixeira of Astra Giurgiu during the open minutes

West Ham striker Valencia (right) rises at the far post to head home and put his side in front

Striker Valencia (left) celebrates with his team-mates after giving West Ham the lead

But the striker went down injured just a few minutes later before being forced off

The Ecuadorian left the field on a stretcher as West Ham were forced into their second early change

Hammers forward Zarate looked delighted after striking to put his side two goals to the good

Zarate (right) kisses his fist as his team-mates join him in celebration as West Ham appeared to be easing to victory

Collins looks frustrated as he pulls his shirt up to his face as he trudges off the pitch following his red card

Payet directly assisted 17 goals for Marseille last season, the fourth best record in Europe.

So, on his competitive Hammers debut, perhaps it was no surprise to see the France international at the centre of the home side's opener; his pinpoint cross powerfully headed home by Valencia.

The 28-year-old could easily have had three more assists before the break; Ogbonna, Collins and Modibo Maiga all going close with headers from Payet crosses.

Bilic didn't have all his own way, though, losing O'Brien and Valencia inside two first half minutes.

Mauro Zarate looked to have killed the tie, waltzing through the Romanian defence before capping off a brilliant solo effort by coolly sliding past Silviu Lung in the 51st minute.

But the balance shifted in the 59th minute after Collins was sent off for two bookings following two clumsy challenges.

And Astra took full advantage.

First, Fernando Boldrin stunned Upton Park with a 25 yard piledriver to throw the tie back into the balance.

And, eight minutes from time, Ogbonna - on his debut - notched an unfortunate own goal to leave Bilic heartbroken before being sent to the stands in injury time.

Boldrin celebrates pulling a goal back for Astra Giurgiu after the Hammers went down to 10 men

Defender Ogbonna walks back for the restart after putting through his own goal to level the score at 2-2

Seto (left) and Geraldo Alves of Astra Giurgiu celebrate the equalising goal scored by Ogbonna

West Ham boss Bilic (left) was sent to the stands late on by the referee to compound a miserable evening at Upton Park