AA Gent was already out against Union after one half and lost 4-0. Trainer Hein Vanhaezebrouck paid particular attention to zero in the result. In the absence of Tarik Tissoudali, AA Gent scores very difficult. “You don’t pluck them out of thin air, the guys who score. We have one, but we will have to wait another two months for that,” said Vanhaezebrouck.
For cupholder AA Gent, the cup adventure ends in the quarterfinals. “And that is due to the fact that Union scored and we did not”, says AA Gent coach Hein Vanhaezebrouck. “That sounds ridiculous, but that’s what it comes down to. We had our moments for large parts of the match and were the equals. But they started in a seat because of that early goal. We then had two great chances through Depoitre, but they didn’t go in. The next time they got into the box they made it 2-0 and when it became 3-0 it was all over. We got off to a good start in the second half with a couple of great chances, but they didn’t go in. When we fell with ten, it was especially important to stay well organized.”
Vanhaezebrouck thought that Nilssen was allowed to head in too easily at 1-0. “Whether you’re six feet tall or six foot four, if your mother soul is alone, it’s easy. The way we defend in that phase is childish. Everyone knows who to get though. These are things that shouldn’t happen, but they happen.”
“I predicted this. As a team they were not that much better than us, although they played faster at times, but above all they score much easier. The teams at the top of the league score from half chances or no chances, while we have been scoring difficult for a long time. We have already tried everything, but the result remains the same. We create the chances, but we don’t finish them.”
“The pressure to finish in the top four in the competition is now increasing. We hoped to keep fighting on three fronts, but now there are only two more. Also in Europe we will be confronted with teams that are more efficient than us. That was also the case with PAOK last year.”
We have to wait until Tarik Tissoudali is completely fit again. “You don’t pluck them out of thin air, the players who score blindly. We have one, but we will have to wait another two months for that.”
Geraerts: “Busy calendar now? No problem”
Union won against AA Gent and remains the only Belgian team active on three fronts. “I am very proud and proud”, said Union coach Karel Geraerts. “The calendar is getting a bit busier now, but that’s not a problem. We are not a team that wants to count. We have a broad core, we’ll see where we end up. Now we can enjoy.”
Geraerts did the same for ninety minutes: Union was many times better than AA Gent. “The guys handled that early lead well. They continued to play football, went looking for 2-0. That way you won’t be faced with any surprises. There wasn’t really anything to be dissatisfied with. AA Gent was only dangerous if we lost the ball ourselves. After that red card, the match was over.”
