Club knocks Antwerp out of Cup 3-1

Club Brugge qualified for the quarterfinals of the Belgian Cup thanks to a 3-1 win against Antwerp. Hans Vanaken gave Blauw-Zwart the lead shortly after half-time and in the closing stages Bas Dost and Ruud Vormer took care of the final decision.

The Bruges starting line-up underwent two changes compared to the team that played at the Freethiel on Saturday. Stefano Denswil took Sobol's place at left back, while Charles De Ketelaere replaced Okereke up front. For the visitors, Golden Shoe Refaelov started on the bench and coach Vercauteren opted for a defensive approach. Club immediately headed toward Ortwin De Wolf, but Bas Dost was unable to take advantage of a unloaded ball from the goalkeeper in the opening stages.

Antwerp put up a double wall, making it difficult for Blauw-Zwart to find openings. After twenty minutes Club did threaten a few times: a shot by De Ketelaere was blocked and a header by the youngster from Bruges went over goal. Moments later, a shot by Lang was blocked by Seck, while Denswil headed a corner kick by Vormer over goal.

The visitors folded back en masse and meanwhile lurked on the counter. On the half hour a good opportunity followed: after a cross from Lamkel Zé, Seck headed straight at Mignolet. Club responded with a distance shot by Denswil that went wide and a header by Vormer that was caught by De Wolf. Shortly before halftime, Lambrechts allowed the ball to go through despite a heavy foul by Seck on Vormer and Lamkel Zé aimed the leather in front.

After the break, Blauw-Zwart immediately went in search of a goal, with success. Clinton Mata made a nice move on the right, got to the back line and put the ball back to Hans Vanaken, who was able to kick in the 1-0. Despite the deficit, the visitors did not immediately come out of their hedgehog position. Club quietly went in search of a second goal, although without taking too many risks.

Twenty minutes before time, Antwerp was suddenly able to counter. A cross from Gerkens was first kicked over by Lamkel Zé, and a bit later Mata was able to clear a shot from Refaelov just before the goal line. The Bridge visitors were not impressed and were able to score a second time ten minutes before time. After a cross from Vormer, Bas Dost first headed the ball at De Wolf, but the Dutchman was able to tap in the rebound himself. Directly after that, De Wolf saved another header by Dost.

The match seemed to be decided, but Lamkel Zé made it exciting for a moment. The striker kicked the leather from the edge of the sixteen meters past Mignolet. Club was not impressed and immediately went in search of a third goal. A shot by Lang was first blocked, but it was Ruud Vormer who made the final decision. The Bruges captain looked to cross, but surprised De Wolf with a brilliant blast into the top corner. In the closing stages, Mignolet saved efforts by Refaelov and Batubinsika to make it 3-1.

Croky Cup - 1/8th final
Spectators: none - Jan Breydelstadion
Referee: Erik Lambrechts
Club Brugge: Simon Mignolet - Clinton Mata, Odilon Kossounou, Brandon Mechele, Stefano Denswil - Ruud Vormer, Mats Rits, Hans Vanaken (80' Éder Balanta) - Noa Lang, Bas Dost, Charles De Ketelaere (74' Tahith Chong). Bench: Ethan Horvath, Senne Lammens, Eduard Sobol, Nabil Dirar, Matej Mitrović, Federico Ricca, David Okereke, Youssouph Badji and Ignace Van der Brempt. Coach: Philippe Clement.
Royal Antwerp FC: Ortwin De Wolf - Ritchie De Laet (82' Aurelio Buta), Abdoulaye Seck (82' Dylan Batubinsika), Jérémy Gélin, Maxime Le Marchand, Jordan Lukaku - Birger Verstraete, Pieter Gerkens (69' Nana Ampomah), Martin Hongla - Felipe Avenatti (69' Lior Refaelov), Didier Lamkel Zé (88' Frank Boya). Coach: Frank Vercauteren.
Yellow cards: Verstraete, De Laet, Seck.
Red cards: none
Goals: 49' Vanaken (1-0), 81' Dost (2-0), 83' Lamkel Zé (2-1), 85' Vormer (3-1).

Text: Steven Floin