Anderlecht vs Gent: Hazard Sends Anderlecht to Semi-Finals

It was Crazy Boys Day at Anderlecht. In Lotto Park, Anthony Vanden Borre kicked off and Benito Raman was also in the stands. The latter had become father of a son Líon at 9.45 in the morning – yes, with a (Ghent) accent – but his wife allowed Benito to come to this cup match. That’s a keeper, that woman.

Anyway, it was hoped that there would also be some crazy, inventive boys walking around on the site. This quarter-final of the Croky Cup was essential and crucial for both Anderlecht and AA Gent. The cup can brighten up such a season – without European football. And with Club Brugge being eliminated, the chance of final victory increased.

READ ALSO.

While Benito Raman shares happy news and the Anderlecht icon is waved goodbye, the cup clash with AA Gent started five minutes late due to a problem with… the nets

The Kite escapes

The Purple & White got off to the best start. It was mainly Adriano Bertaccini who was lurking. The Italo-Belgian first saw a good header parried by Davy Roef after a cross from Degreef. It wasn’t much later Adri there again after a Ghent corner kick. On the counter he stormed towards goal alone. The striker was lightly hooked by Tibe De Vlieger, but instead of going to the ground, Bertaccini staggered through. His slider was saved by Roef. If the RSCA attacker had gone flat on his stomach, De Vlieger would always have received a red card. Now the Buffalo man escaped and Bertaccini was actually punished for staying on his feet. Somewhat illogical, right?

It was not that the people of Ghent were silent. Anderlecht keeper Colin Coosemans appeared in that fluorescent pink outfit that he despises so much and was therefore easy to target. At times the Buffalos put together good combinations and Coosemans had to deal with good hard shots from Ito and Skoras. The party was balanced.

However, AA Gent cannot provide the best statistics against Anderlecht in the Belgian cup. The two clubs have previously faced each other twelve times in cup history and the Buffaloes have not been able to prevail once in the field game. That is to say: they did win the final against the Brussels team in 2022, but that was after penalties. Would things be different now?

Seizing the right moment: that’s what it came down to. So Mihajlo Cvetkovic was not in the starting line-up at Anderlecht, but Tristan Degreef was. Apparently he has the same hairdresser as Nilson Angulo, because the two appeared with the same bleached head. It was two for the price of one. Unfortunately, the hairdresser had also cut away his finesse with Nilson, fortunately that was not the case with Degreef. He set up some actions and when Araujo stepped on his heel in the box, ref Laforge whistled a penalty.

Nowadays that is the house specialty at RSCA. Thorgan Hazard has not missed a single eleven meter this season Toto Penalty did it again with his fifth penalty of the season: 1-0. Remarkable: of his last five goals, RSCA scored three from the spot. Without a true striker, scoring field goals is of course not easy.

The party was quite enjoyable. Both teams simply needed this cup qualification to forget a turbulent December. Were Rik De Mil’s troops able to reverse the deficit? Michal Skoras made a good attempt after the break, but his shot hit the target wood. On the other side, Saliba also hit the post.

Kana also escapes

A key moment was perhaps a moment of transition in Ghent. Anderlecht was overjoyed that they could count on Marco Kana again after weeks, but once the defense leader went wrong. He played back too short to Coosemans and had to pull down the breaking Skoras. That too should have always been red, but Laforge stuck with yellow. Incomprehensible.

READ ALSO.

VIDEO. Shouldn’t this be red? Marco Kana comes away well after a mistake on Michal Skoras: “For me this is really a gray zone in football”

Not much later, Kana was replaced by mercenary Mihajlo Ilic. A man in whom no one in Brussels really believes anymore, but necessity breaks law. Özcan and Maamar were also missing from the purple-white selection. It was a matter of hanging and strangling. Take that literally, because Lopez Da Silva scored the Ghent equalizer in the 94th minute. But after a VAR intervention it was disallowed for a previous handball by Max Dean.

Antwerp again in semi-finals

Angulo was still excluded from the home team, but it is Anderlecht that advances to the semi-finals of the cup. Just like last year, it will be against Antwerp and that ended well. The hunt for a first trophy in nine years continues in Brussels. For AA Gent now only the battle for Play-off 1 remains. That is what Rik De Mil has to focus on. By the way, there is already the league match against the Purple & White on Sunday. Then Lucas Hey has been suspended from the Brussels team and will Marco Kana kick off again? Well, this cup match was more important.

READ ALSO.

These are the semi-finals of the Croky Cup (and when they will be played)

The crazy boys – Anthony Vanden Borre and Benito Raman – went home after a pleasant, exciting game of football. Well, Benito first had to report to the maternity hospital with his wife and child.

READ ALSO.

OUR POINTS. “A rough diamond, but will he ever shine?”: many mediocre figures for both teams, but Anderlecht manages to qualify