Seraing surprisingly qualified for the 1/8th finals of the Croky Cup. For almost 80 minutes it looked as if Charleroi would push through without much difficulty despite a narrow lead, but Seraing managed to force extra extensions at the last minute. In this, the home team completely reversed the roles.
Goals:
- 16′ Heymans 0-1
- 79′ Mansoni 1-1
- 105′ Vagner 2-1
- 107′ Wasinski 3-1 (own)
- 110′ Vagner 4-1
Seraing – Charleroi in a nutshell:
- Key moment: Charleroi thinks with 10 minutes to go that he is sure of a ticket for the 1/8th finals and forgets that the margin is extremely limited. Mansoni brings Seraing alongside at the last minute, the start of an impressive metamorphosis for the home team.
- Man of the match: Vagner came into the squad for the unfortunate Bunchukov after the break, but saved his moment for the extra time. The Cape Verdean Charleroi knocked mercilessly out of the cup with two goals.
- Remarkable: Winning a match, that was already ago for Seraing from the competition victory at Standard at the end of September. Since then, 2 draws and 4 defeats followed. It is also only the first home win of the season for Seraing.
- Statistics: L’histoire se répète for Charleroi. Just like last season, the cup adventure is already over after 1 match. Then Lommel was the culprit, now Seraing. The team from Liège is doing just as well as last season, when they were eventually eliminated by Anderlecht in the 1/8th finals.
Heymans gives Charleroi a perfect start
At Seraing, the focus is entirely on retention in the competition, so it was no surprise that the Liège club did not kick off with its strongest team. Charleroi, on the other hand, had set his sights on the cup, so trainer Frank Defays opted for his type team.
Despite this, Seraing easily held his ground in the opening quarter, but then Bunchukov’s sloppy loss of the ball put the home side down. Morioka took full advantage and brought Heymans to Martin alone. Club top scorer Heymans did not miss the opportunity: 0-1.
Charleroi almost immediately relinquished that lead. Mvoué lost sight of the far post on a cross by Conceiçao, but the Cameroonian couldn’t get the ball within the frame and thus missed a huge opportunity.
Charleroi escaped unscathed and remained the most dangerous team afterwards. Martin had to make two saves on an attempt by Gholizadeh and Seraing got away again when the ball went off the spot for a pushing foul on Benbouali.
Heymans did not fail eye to eye with Martin.
Seraing rises from the dead with strong remonte
Seraing was unable to make a fist in the second half, but Charleroi failed to deepen the narrow lead. That cost the visitors dearly in the final phase because after a nice rush by Abanda, substitute Mansoni Koffi left no chance.
Suddenly the plates were level again and that gave Seraing wings. The unleashed home team increased the pressure, Charleroi had to pull out all the stops to even force extensions.
In those overtimes, Seraing continued on his momentum. At the end of the first overtime, Vagner put the 1A red lantern ahead and at the start of the second overtime, Charleroi went wrong again when Wasinski worked a cross into his own goal. From 0-1 to 3-1, il faut le faire.
The calf had drowned for Defays’ team and with his second of the evening, Vagner plunged the knife a little deeper into the wound. Seraing dangled on the brink of elimination for almost 80 minutes, but after a spectacular turnaround, pushed through to the 1/8th finals.
