Cup joy for Germinal Beerschot Antwerpen

By Berend Scholten

KFC Germinal Beerschot Antwerpen collected their first major trophy on Saturday by defeating holders Club Brugge KV in the Belgian Cup final at the Roi Baudouin Stadium in Brussels.

UEFA Cup joy
The win also handed the six-year-old club a UEFA Cup place for next season and prevented Brugge winning the league and cup double. Supported by more than 16,000 fans, GBA took the lead in the 23rd minute, when Karel Snoeckx proved faster then Birger Maertens and shot the ball past goalkeeper Tomislav Butina.

Brugge pressure
At the start of the second half, Brugge increased the pressure and levelled on 53 minutes through a header from Gert Verheyen, playing in his eighth Belgian Cup final, a national record. But a minute later GBA scored the winner, when Snoeckx saw his free-kick connect with the head of Kris De Wree who guided it in.