KV Mechelen is in the quarterfinals after a fierce battle against Cercle Brugge. The Camargo brought the home team alongside in the 2nd half and only well into the 2nd overtime, star Storm decided the game.
Goals:
- 35′ Somers 0-1
- 66′ De Camargo 1-1
- 116′ Storm 2-1
KV Mechelen – Cercle Brugge in a nutshell:
- Key moment: The match seems to be heading for a penalty shootout, but KV Mechelen strikes deep into the second extension. The Camargo still collides with Warleson, but Storm does hit with a wonderful shot.
- Man of the match: Nikola Storm was the driving force behind KV Mechelen’s qualifying. He brought fire into the team at the start of the second half, but had bad luck in the finish. In the second overtime it was hit and how!
- Remarkable: KV Mechelen once again confirms its reputation as a cup team. Since the cup win in 2019, it has already reached the quarterfinals for the second year in a row. Last season that was also the final station, against cup holder Racing Genk.
Somers scores, Kanouté leaves the 0-2
Dominik Thalhammer, the successor of Yves Vanderhaeghe, watched from the stands tonight, but the impact of the new technical staff was immediately felt at Cercle. Of the 11 who kicked off last Saturday in the league match against KV Mechelen, just 4 remained tonight.
In that competition match at Jan Breydel, KV Mechelen went down surprisingly, so the team was eager for revenge for its own people. The initiative therefore came from the home team in the opening phase, but that dominance did not lead to opportunities.
Cercle was hardly dangerous either, Thoelen only had to take action on a shot by Rubio. The Cercle supporters did provide fireworks, the match even had to be stopped because of their smoke bombs.
The devil was in the tail, because 10 minutes before half time Cercle suddenly struck. At KV Mechelen they couldn’t get the ball away after a free kick and Somers opened the score. Five minutes later it was almost level again, but Warleson kept Schoofs from the 1-1.
It didn’t get more dangerous at KV Mechelen and with halftime in sight, the home team escaped the 0-2 after a clumsy loss of the ball. Kanouté cut Thoelen out well, but then decided incomprehensibly wide with his lesser left.
Storm gives Mechelen fans a blistering apotheosis
After the break, Cercle was hit by a Mechelse Storm. The attacker piled up the chances, but invariably a Cercle player or goalkeeper Warleson stood in the way. So a setback for the home team, Cercle had luck on his side.
Just past the hour, KV Mechelen saw Cuypers injured after an unfortunate collision. Strangely enough, it turned out to be a blessing, because substitute De Camargo was barely on the field when he brought KV Mechelen alongside again. Warleson was able to push a shot from Schoofs against the post, but had no chance against the substitute’s resumption.
KV Mechelen then continued to look for the winning goal, but Cercle held up easily all in all. Only Storm really came close to 2-1, but his shot was just blocked.
So extensions and they seemed a measure for nothing. Only Millan caused some excitement with a spectacular bicycle kick, but Thoelen made the save. It happened deep in the second overtime. Warleson still kept De Camargo from the 2-1, but immediately afterwards he had to give in to a wonderful bang from Storm.
KV Mechelen thus takes revenge for the league defeat in Bruges and is in the quarterfinals for the third year in a row. At Cercle, they can now fully focus on the fight for preservation.
