Leopold 2 – 3 Gantoise
Leopold : Henet ; Eaton, Van Strydonck, J. Verdussen, Forgues; Boccard, Poncelet, Englebert; Baumgarten, Boon, De Backer; then Zimmer, Cuvelier, De Trez, A. Verdussen,
Ghent : Carr ; M. Clément, T. Deplus, M. Deplus; Kina; Masson, Goyet, Murray; Duvekot, Tynevez, Hellin; then T. Clément, Esquelin, Molenaar, Paton, Rogge
Referees : MM. L. Dooms and S. Michielsen
Green cards : 44th Englebert, 57th Hellin, 58th Zimmer, 60th Duvekot
Yellow cards : 51st A. Verdussen, 63rd M. Deplus, 68th Goyet
The goals : 20th Boon (1-0), 31st Kina on PC (1-1), 32nd Boon on PC (2-1), 48th Esquelin on PC (2-2), 67th Tynevez (2-3)
Penalty corner : Léopold (1/7) and Gantoise (2/4)
Leopold once again learned the hard way that dominating the 22 days of the championship does not help a group with a view to the semi-finals. Like last year, Léo stalled in the semi-final. Tom Boon, scorer of two goals on Sunday, will still not be Belgian champion. Agus Corradini failed to bring this title that Leo has been waiting for since 2019.
“I’m frustrated with the score”, stammered the Argentine coach. “We conceded two goals against PC beasts. There, I am still in emotion. So, I don’t know how to analyze the meeting.”
Agus Corradini will note that his team has not missed the point, but that the age of certain players slows down the game too much to create interesting offensive situations. The arrival of Onana and other big names will force departures among the older players. A page is turning on Avenue Dupuich. Untitled. Again.
The defeat can also be attributed to a Ghent collective which spoke with one voice. The Buffalos were unfazed. They didn't waste time with the referees. They demonstrated that their PC was efficient. And above all, they defended and attacked together. The foundation of modern hockey. “The difference ? Our collective. We remain a collective in all areas of the field”, sums up the man who scored his eighth goal of the season, Emile Esquelin. “I score the 2-2 which is one of the most important goals of my career. I haven't had much luck on PC. We don’t have a great sleeper, but we worked the phase like crazy with Antoine Kina.”
Ghent had been left for dead two weeks ago. It was only a goal from… White Star in the 70th minute of the 22nd day that allowed Ghent to play in the play-off. “It’s crazy,” continues Esquelin. “We were out of the play-off. We're just coming back. Eight days later, we qualified for the final by beating Leopold twice.”
Now it's time for the final against Watducks like last year. “The Watducks like to have the ball. We are effective against it. We lost twice against them this season (3-4 and 3-0), but playing in a final is totally different”concludes the one who thanks the fantastic Ghent supporters.
