Cup heartbreak for Anderlecht once again as Union St Gilloise triumph in all Brussels final | OneFootball

For the second time in the space of 12 months, Anderlecht have lost the Belgian Cup final. The side faced city rivals Union St Gilloise in a final that went all the way to extra-time, with the title challenging Union proving to be too good for Anderlecht.

Christian Burgess looked to have given Union the lead after 15 minutes with a well placed header, only for VAR to rule that Kevin McAllister had been offside when interfering with play and disallowed the goal. By half-time it was still 0-0 in what was an evenly matched clash without too many chances. Mac Allister made up for his offside during the second half with an excellent finish in the box.

It looked like Union would hold on, only for Serbian teenager Mihajlo Cvetkovic to equalise. Thorgan Hazard’s free-kick was headed back across the box by Lucas Hey, with the young Cvetkovic guiding his header into the far corner. Neither side could break the deadlock as the game headed into extra-time.

Union proved too strong in additional time as Anderlecht’s defence completely fell apart. Mohammed Fuseini gave Union the lead once again just five minutes into the extra period with a well taken finish. Anderlecht pushed forward and were caught on the break, although they still defended poorly to allow Adem Zorgane too much time in the box. The Algerian found Kevin Rodriguez to make it 3-1 in the 100th minute, a goal that all but killed the game off.

Union were able to ward off Anderlecht’s continued push to get back into the game. The side have now won the cup in two of the last three seasons, and this weekend face Club Brugge in a huge game that could determine where the league title ends up.

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson