There will no longer be any question of “almost” from now on. Many wondered if the Union would “crack again” against Antwerp renowned for its cold realism and its ability to punish the slightest error. But there was no fatal error this Thursday. The Yellow and Blue have demonstrated that they are not condemned to fail in big moments. Anthony Moris and his family have not flirted with the summits for almost three years by chance. They even know how to conclude now.
Machida in history
History will remember that this final turned on one of the “specials” of Blessin's team: a corner shot taken at the near post, towards Nilsson's head, and which ended up in the second zone after being deflected. The quickest to emerge was Machida, who ignored Wijndal to slam the ball into Lammens' net with his left (45th). We came out of a first period without much opportunity, as a Cup final can offer, with a rather expected scenario: a closed match, where possession was largely in favor of the Union, facing a wait-and-see attitude from Antwerp. We felt Van Bommel's team had no idea, once the ball was at their feet. A long shot from Ekkelenkamp which licked the post of Moris (22nd) represented the biggest danger of the first forty-five minutes, until Lapoussin dribbled past Balikwisha to send in a cross forcing the Antwerp defense to concede the corner; the one where Machida appeared, therefore, to make it 1-0.
For the Great Old, betting everything on the Cup would have been a bad idea. Choosing to refuse the match in the first period, not necessarily a better one either, one would be tempted to write. Alderweireld's team was also significantly more dangerous in the second and was on the verge of punishing the Brussels residents on an unforgivable approximation from Burgess (80th), but Moris said “not this time”, erasing the approximations of the start of the playoffs. The Union was no longer leading at this time, relying on other values; those seen in Europe over the last two seasons and which are more about self-sacrifice than good play. It could have killed the suspense on a header from Nilsson that was too quick (74th), on a counter punctuated by a strike from Puertas on Lammens (89th) or on a counter that Amoura was unable to finish (93rd).
See you in Bruges on Monday
But she didn't need a second goal to win the trophy. Perhaps Blessin's players saved him for the match in Bruges on Monday. Because it is with high morale, having definitively put certain complexes in the cupboards, that the Saint-Gillois will go to the Jan Breydel stadium, where they won in the playoffs last season. And, who knows?, maybe this team hasn't finished writing everything they have to write yet this season.
