2022 Belgian Cup final

Last updated
2022 Belgian Cup final
2022 Belgian Cup final.jpg
Gent giving a free kick in the extra time
Event 2021–22 Belgian Cup
After extra time
Gent won 4–3 on penalties
Date18 April 2022
Venue King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels
Referee Lawrence Visser
2021
2023

The 2022 Belgian Cup final, named Croky Cup after the sponsor, was the 67th Belgian Cup final. On 2 March 2022, Gent qualified for their 6th final, losing 2 and winning 3. Anderlecht qualified one day later, reaching their fourteenth final, having won nine times before, the last time of which occurred in 2008, when they also faced Gent in the 2008 Belgian Cup Final. After a tense 0–0 draw after extra time, Gent won 4–3 on penalties. [1]

Contents

Route to the final

GentAnderlecht
OpponentResultLegsScorersRoundOpponentResultLegsScorers
Belisia (IV)4–04–0 home Odjidja-Ofoe, Okumu, Mboyo, Chakvetadze Sixth round La Louvière (IV)7–17–1 away Zirkzee (2), Hoedt (2), Refaelov (2), Raman
Lommel (II)2–02–0 away De Sart (2) Seventh round Seraing (I)3–33–3 away ( a.e.t. ) (4–3 p) Kouamé (2), Refaelov
Standard Liège (I)3–13–1 home Kums, Tissoudali (2) Quarter-finals Kortrijk (I)3–03–0 home Kouamé (2), Gómez
Club Brugge (I)3–10–1 home; 3–0 awaynone; Odjidja-Ofoe, Castro-Montes, Depoitre Semi-finals Eupen (I)5–32–2 away; 3–1 home Refaelov (2); Murillo, Magallán, Kouamé

Pre-match

From a personnel perspective, both clubs seemingly started in full force, as they saw several players return from injury just in time for the final. Gent recuperated captain Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe, who previously played for Anderlecht, while at Anderlecht both Sergio Gómez and Yari Verschaeren were able to start the match, while Majeed Ashimeru started on the bench as he was not deemed ready for a full match yet. Just before the match however, Gent suffered a set back as striker Laurent Depoitre got injured and was unable to play.

Looking at the results going into the match, Gent had reached the last 16 of the UEFA Europa Conference League and ended the regular season scoring 25 out of 27 points, nevertheless, despite their strong run and comeback in the league standings, they had only finished 5th, thus missing out on the Champions' Playoffs on the final matchday. Their winning streak did however include a 1–0 victory over Anderlecht in the third week of March. Anderlecht from their side had been relieved to just reach the Champions' Playoffs after finishing third in the league. The winner of the final would be assured of a place in the play-off round of the 2022–23 UEFA Europa League. In case of a loss, Gent would only be able to reach European football through winning Play-Off II and the European competition play-offs (although the latter might be canceled in case Anderlecht would qualify for the UEFA Champions League through finishing 1st or 2nd in the league). Anderlecht knew a loss in the cup final would mean they would need to finish top three in the league to be certain of European football, in case they dropped to fourth, they would however need to win the European competition play-offs.

Match

Summary

Even without their targetman Laurent Depoitre, who dropped out during the warmup, Gent started strongly as Hendrik Van Crombrugge only narrowly reached the header by Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui in the opening minutes, after which they took control of the match. While Anderlecht was suffering, they did create a big chance, with the deviation of Yari Verschaeren rolling straight into Davy Roef. It would be their only real dangerous opportunity of the first half, with other minor chances coming through an overhead kick by Lior Refaelov, a volley by Verschaeren and a blocked shot by Kristoffer Olsson. On the other side of the pitch, Gent remained much more threatening. Tarik Tissoudali dribbled his way around Lisandro Magallán, but the latter was able to stay close, not allowing Tissoudali a clean shot on goal. Then, sloppy defending by Michael Amir Murillo gave Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe an opportunity to shoot but his attempt went just wide. Five minutes before the break, Roman Bezus seemingly opened the score, but his header on a cross by Joseph Okumu was disallowed for offside.

In the second half Gent immediately continued where it left off, through a header from Julien De Sart and a blistering shot from Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe, but they did not manage to score. Anderlecht manager Vincent Kompany tried to turn things around by bringing in Francis Amuzu, Majeed Ashimeru and Benito Raman around the hour mark to allow a more direct style of play, which indeed restored the balance of play, but did not result in any chances created. The game became more fierce, with both Ashimeru and Andrew Hjulsager having to leave the pitch injured after being substituted on earlier in the second half, and play was often stopped due to players receiving treatment. On top of this, an environmental activist had tied himself to one of the goalposts, causing a further few minutes of pause. All of this resulted in a dull second half after the initial chances.

As such, it came as a surprise when at the start of extra time the game burst open again, Núrio Fortuna missing a huge chance for Gent, heading wide, while just after that Matisse Samoise could only narrowly intercept Anouar Ait El Hadj who had broken through for Anderlecht. At that point it seemed the Anderlecht players were more energetic while Gent needed willpower to keep up, they could only breathe a sigh of relief when Christian Kouamé recklessly shot over the bar. The final chance of the match was for Gent however, as Darko Lemajić hit the underside of the bar from close range in minute 116, but the game stayed goalless. In the penalty kick sequence, Davy Roef became the hero for Gent, saving the penalty kicks by Josh Cullen and Michael Amir Murillo, while Van Crombrugge had only been able to keep out the effort of Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui, allowing Gent to take their first trophy since their league title in 2015, while Anderlecht continued its period without silverware, last winning the 2017 Belgian Super Cup.

Details

Gent 0–0 (a.e.t.) Anderlecht
Report
Penalties
4–3
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Gent
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Anderlecht
GK33 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Davy Roef
CB20 Flag of Nigeria.svg Jordan Torunarigha
CB5 Flag of Cameroon.svg Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui
CB2 Flag of Kenya.svg Joseph Okumu
MF18 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Matisse Samoise Sub off.svg 106'
MF24 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Sven Kums Sub off.svg 106'
MF8 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe Sub off.svg 69'
MF13 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Julien De Sart
MF14 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Alessio Castro-Montes
CF9 Flag of Ukraine.svg Roman Bezus Sub off.svg 88'
CF34 Flag of Morocco.svg Tarik Tissoudali Sub off.svg 91'
Substitutes:
GK1 Flag of Turkey.svg Sinan Bolat
MF6 Flag of Ghana.svg Elisha Owusu Sub on.svg 106'Yellow card.svg 114'
FW11 Flag of Serbia.svg Darko Lemajić Sub on.svg 88'
MF17 Flag of Denmark.svg Andrew Hjulsager Sub on.svg 69'Sub off.svg 90+2'
DF21 Flag of Norway.svg Andreas Hanche-Olsen Sub on.svg 106'
FW23 Flag of Israel.svg Yonas Malede Sub on.svg 91'
DF25 Flag of Angola.svg Núrio Fortuna Sub on.svg 90+2'
Manager:
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Hein Vanhaezebrouck
GK30 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Hendrik Van Crombrugge
RB62 Flag of Panama.svg Michael Amir Murillo Yellow card.svg 90+4'
CB2 Flag of Argentina.svg Lisandro Magallán Yellow card.svg 95'
CB4 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Wesley Hoedt
LB17 Flag of Spain.svg Sergio Gómez
MF10 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Yari Verschaeren Sub off.svg 58'
MF20 Flag of Sweden.svg Kristoffer Olsson Yellow card.svg 33'Sub off.svg 58'
MF8 Flag of Ireland.svg Josh Cullen
MF11 Flag of Israel.svg Lior Refaelov Sub off.svg 91'
CF99 Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg Christian Kouamé Yellow card.svg 118'
CF23 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Joshua Zirkzee Sub off.svg 58'
Substitutes:
MF7 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Francis Amuzu Sub on.svg 58'
FW9 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Benito Raman Sub on.svg 58'
DF14 Flag of Ukraine.svg Bohdan Mykhaylichenko
GK16 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Bart Verbruggen
MF18 Flag of Ghana.svg Majeed Ashimeru Sub on.svg 58'Sub off.svg 76'
MF46 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Anouar Ait El Hadj Sub on.svg 91'
DF55 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Marco Kana Sub on.svg 76'
Manager:
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Vincent Kompany

Assistant referees:
Rien Vanzyere
Thibaud Nijssen
Fourth official:
Christof Dierick

Match rules

  • 90 minutes.
  • 30 minutes of extra time if necessary.
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level.
  • Seven named substitutes.
  • Maximum of three substitutions.

Notes

    References

    1. "AA Gent verdiende Cupwinnaar tegen teleurstellend Anderlecht na penaltyserie (4-3) en fysieke slijtageslag". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). 18 April 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2024.