Who would have thought this? Despite all the misery, KV Oostende can still dream of a final place in the Belgian Cup. In the first leg of the semi-finals, they held national champions Antwerp in check. The visitors took the lead after (yet another) wonderful long-range goal from Doumbia, but Henderson responded with an equally good goal.
Eupen, Racing Genk and RWDM. Three first division teams have already been defeated this season by the ailing KV Oostende, the surprise in the semi-finals of the cup. So Antwerp had better be on its guard.
The cup holder immediately claimed possession of the ball, but Antwerp’s field dominance hardly resulted in any chances. Apart from a dangerous shot from driving force Ejuke, Gabriel was hardly tested in the first 20 minutes.
Halfway through the first half, Doumbia demonstrated his wonderful kicking technique, just like last week at Sclessin. After good preparatory work by Ejuke, he capitalized on Antwerp’s dominance with a beautiful long shot, Gabriël had no chance with so much beauty.
On the other side, Lammens suffered the same fate when Henderson in turn shook a pearl out of his slippers. From the edge of the box he curled the ball beautifully into the goal via the post. Ostend suddenly found itself on par with Antwerp again out of nowhere.
With peace in sight, Ostend escaped a new deficit. Now Doumbia was the signaler for Ejuke, but the Nigerian could not get the ball past Gabriel.
The menu after the break looked suspiciously similar to that of the first half, except for the beautiful goals. Antwerp monopolized ball possession again, but failed to reap the benefits.
Twenty minutes before the end, KVO goalkeeper Gabriël showed that he has not stolen his name. Twice he was the saving angel for the home team. First he parried Ondrejka’s shot and the save on Bataille’s recovery was even better.
Gabriël also had to distinguish himself once again in the absolute final phase. Ekkelenkamp was able to decide from close range on a pass from Ondrejka, but was unable to get the ball past the goalkeeper. So the score remained 1-1 and a brave KV Oostende can continue to dream of an unexpected place in the final.
2024-02-08 22:23:22
#Combative #Oostende #Antwerp #check #match #wonderful #goals
