On Tuesday, Union Saint-Gilloise secured their ticket to the quarter-finals of the Croky Cup, as they narrowly beat KV Oostende 2-1, on the night Belgian football made its return after a disappointing World Cup for the country.
KV Oostende proved to be a tough opponent for Belgian football's silver medallists Union Saint-Gilloise, and they were only defeated thanks to a late winner by Simon Adingra in the 85th minute.
With the scoreboard having been tied throughout the game at Brussels' Stade Marien in Duden Park, Union had various chances, but it was Union's Victor Boniface who opened the scoring in the 11th minute for the hosts.
Oostende's Theo Ndicka Matam levelled things up in the 19th minute, and the game looked destined for extra-time. But it was Simon Adingra's 85th-minute strike which sealed the deal for the Brussels side, who progress to the next round.
Gent go past in extra time
Croky Cup holders Gent were only able to thwart a shock early exit against Cercle Brugge in extra-time, where they overcame the visitors 2-0. After 90 minutes, there was still nothing separating the two Flemish sides.
Gent's Malick Fofana. Credit: Belga / Kurt Desplenter
At the start of extra-time, Cercle suffered an immediate blow when Olivier Deman's was sent off for a second yellow card in the 93rd minute. That numerical superiority pulled it off for cup holders Gent, as Hugo Cuypers managed to find a gap in the Cercle defence in the 109th minute. Ten minutes later, 17-year-old Malick Fofana ended Cercle's resistance to make it 2-0.
Antwerp thrash Standard
In the most anticipated match of the night, Antwerp thrashed Standard de Liege 4-0 and also have progressed to the quarter-finals. Antwerp – nicknamed The Great Old – did not need very long to hoist themselves into the lead in front of the home crowd: Jelle Bataille in the 16th minute cut inside and curled the ball beyond the reach of Arnaud Bodart into the far corner.
Antwerp's Arbnor Muja celebrates after scoring during a game between RAFC Antwerp and Standard de Liege. Credit: Belga / Tom Goyvaerts
After the break, early goals from Michael Frey in the 55th and Arbnor Muja in the 59th, took advantage of miscommunication in the Liège defence and put the game beyond reach. To make matters worse, the visiting captain Noe Dussenne was sent off midway through the second half after receiving a second yellow card. Calvin Stengs in the 79th finished off the visitors to make it 4-0.
Other games
OH Leuven fell at home against KV Kortrijk, losing 1-3 and ensuring a successful debut for Kortrijk's new coach Bernd Storck.
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KV Mechelen are also through to the next round thanks to a narrow 1-0 win against Seraing. Kerim Mrabti (55.) scored the only goal of the match.
This evening, Anderlecht will play Genk, Club Brugge will host STVV and Zulte Wareghem will be travelling to Deinze to complete Last 16 of the Croky Cup.
