The shortest way to Europe, the shortest way to a first prize in five years. Anderlecht knew what was at stake tonight against Eupen. The match couldn’t have started better for the Purple & White. Murillo got a lot of space on a corner from Refaelov and headed the ball after only 5 minutes.
But just like in the first leg, Anderlecht lost that early lead just as quickly. Then Prevljak equalized 10 minutes after Refaelov’s opening goal, now he brought Eupen alongside again barely 5 minutes after the 1-0. With a good dose of luck, his shot deflected at Magallan and Van
Crombrugge so hopeless behind.
From unfortunate Magallan himself put things in order on the half hour. Eupen let himself
again on a corner kick and the Argentinian used so much freedom optimally. Nurudeen fumbled for the ball, but was unable to thwart a second goal.
It remained one-way traffic in the Lotto Park, but Anderlecht could hardly draw any opportunities from that dominance in the field. The best one was aimed over the target by Kouamé from close by. An underage Eupen was able to maintain the tension despite a role as an extra.
Kouamé mept Eupen KO
Immediately after the break, that tension melted like snow in the sun. The second half was less than half a minute when outstanding player Refaelov painted the ball perfectly on Kouamé’s head and he headed the 3-1 very cleverly out of Nurudeen’s reach.
Match played, although Gomez almost made it exciting with a dramatic back pass to Van Crombrugge. Prevljak smelled his chance to score again, but ran into a fine save by the Anderlecht goalkeeper.
With that, the hardest part was over for the Purple & White. The home team kept a firm grip on things, Eupen was unable to offer any resistance. The match also ended in a minor way for the visitors when Nuhu received a second yellow card in the final phase.
In the Easter weekend, for example, we get a re-release of the cup final of 2008. Then Anderlecht took its last cup win, more than 14 years later, the Purple & White finally got another chance to crown themselves as cup winner.
