Felice Mazzu wanted his team to start the second half against Seraing as if it were still 0-0, but the ten-man Union knew all too well that it was in a seat thanks to Saturday’s 0-2.
Seraing didn’t want to waste a second and could have quickly turned it into a match, but Nieuwkoop was the savior of goalkeeper Moris.
Union was little or nothing of it, but after an hour (or fifteen minutes, if you like) the match was completely locked. Teuma got a second chance for his stopped penalty after goalkeeper Galje jumped too eagerly from his line and did not fail.
Seraing deserved a pat on the back for his search for a goal, but in the final phase Union struck again from the spot. Galje knocked Vanzeir to the ground, the VAR came in between.
The 0-4 was a breeze for top scorer Undav, who almost put his buddy Vanzeir on the way to 0-5. It got stuck somewhere, just like the 1-4. The VAR canceled a penalty for Seraing in extra time.
0-4, Union showed little sweat on Seraing’s field. It now stands for a four-part match against Racing Genk, Club Brugge, Anderlecht and Antwerp.
Bad luck! Seraing goalkeeper stops penalty, but is whistled back by ref, and still gets it in
“We knew that Seraing would press straight away and we were a bit lucky thanks to Nieuwkoop’s intervention, but after that we did our job as we had to,” concluded Union coach Felice Mazzu.
“My strikers made a lot of sacrifices and in the switch we finished it.”
From Sunday it will be a different cake with a series of toppers. “We want to play with pleasure. The players can show their qualities, because that was not possible in this context.”
“We want to keep making history and with the other teams it is more of a necessity. We have to be mentally liberated and we hope that this story will continue.”
