Union Sint-Gillis has won the Belgian Cup. The people of Brussels defeated defending champion Antwerp 1-0 in the final in the King Baudouin Stadium, thanks to a goal by defender Koki Machida. For Union, after the national title in 1935, it is the first prize at the highest level in 89 years.
Antwerp and Union did not provide a memorable opening phase at Heysel. Both teams started the match cautiously and got the cup final off to a slow start. Antwerp hit the post once and Union was especially dangerous on the counter-attack, but the match really exploded for the first time just before the break, when the Japanese Machida (45.+1) gave Union the lead. Like a devil out of a box, the defender appeared in the right place during a corner kick and tapped the opening goal against the ropes.
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Antwerp opened the second half with the hunt for the equalizer, but did not get further than a few corner kicks and a deflection from Eliot Matazo. While The Great Old fruitlessly continued to look for opportunities, Union also barely got to Antwerp’s goal. Jurgen Ekkelenkamp caused excitement around the hour mark by going down in the box after contact with Christian Burgess, but referee Lambrechts did not point to the spot.
Thanks to the same Ekkelenkamp, Antwerp subsequently had one big chance to equalize, but the midfielder did not punish Burgess’ mistake. The defending champion still pushed for the end, but Union could no longer crack and was able to celebrate its first victory in the Cup since 1914.
Thanks to the cup win, Union is assured of participation in the Europa League play-offs, but can still improve its European ticket if it finishes in first or second place in the competition.
