On Thursday evening, the Mauves traveled to the Bosuil for the second leg of the Cup semi-final. After a 1-0 victory in the first leg at the Lotto Park, coach David Hubert’s team secured a 2-2 draw—a result that earned them a ticket to the final at the Heysel against Club Brugge.
In the first fifteen minutes, as expected, Antwerp applied pressure to quickly overturn their first-leg deficit. Anderlecht withstood the early attacking waves from the home side, with a few long-range shots posing no real threat to Colin Coosemans. However, after twenty-five minutes, the home team broke the deadlock through Denis Odoi with the first shot on target of the match. Sporting responded immediately through Luis Vazquez, who got past Toby Alderweireld and forced Senne Lammens to push the ball out for a corner. From that corner, Yari Verschaeren capitalized on the rebound, firing an unstoppable left-footed strike into the top corner. A few minutes before halftime, Antwerp was reduced to ten men following Denis Odoi’s dismissal after receiving a second yellow card. Shortly after, Adryelson found the net with a header, but the goal was correctly ruled out for offside, leaving the score level at 1-1 going into the break.
RSCA started the second half stronger and threatened early on with a shot from Thorgan Hazard, but his effort was blocked by Senne Lammens. Anderlecht managed their numerical advantage with a composed approach, opting for a more patient game plan. Twenty minutes from time, Hazard tested the Antwerp goalkeeper once again, forcing a difficult save, but clear-cut chances remained rare on both sides. With fifteen minutes left on the clock, Mexican César Huerta came on to replace Yari Verschaeren. Soon after, Colin Coosemans made a crucial save to deny Gyrano Kerk from putting Antwerp ahead. Moments later, Mario Stroeykens made way for Leander Dendoncker, but almost immediately, Kerk restored the home side’s lead after being set up by Vincent Janssen. In the final five minutes, David Hubert brought on Kasper Dolberg, Nilson Angulo, and Moussa N’Diaye. And in the dying seconds, his substitutions made the difference. Huerta appeared in the box at just the right moment and delivered a perfect pass to Dendoncker, who slotted home a dramatic late equalizer. In the very last moments, Leander secured Sporting’s place in the Cup final at the Heysel.
RSC Anderlecht
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- 26. COLIN COOSEMANS (GK) ©
- 3. LUCAS HEY
- 4. JAN-CARLO SIMIC
- 6. LUDWIG AUGUSTINSSON
(88’ MOUSSA NDIAYE) - 10. YARI VERSCHAEREN
(75’ CESAR HUERTA) - 11. THORGAN HAZARD
(88’ NILSON ANGULO) - 20. LUIS VAZQUEZ
(88’ KASPER DOLBERG) - 23. MATS RITS
- 29. MARIO STROEYKENS
(81‘ LEANDER DENDONCKER) - 34. ADRYELSON LIMA
- 54. KILLIAN SARDELLA