Cup joy for La Louviére

RAA Louviéroise won their first Belgian Cup on Sunday after a thrilling 3-1 victory over K. Sint Truidense VV at the Roi Baudouin stadium.

Van Geel chance
La Louviére, who finished 15th in the Belgian First Division this season, clinched the trophy in front of 32,000 supporters in Brussels, but were made to work hard for their victory. The first chance fell to Sint-Truiden, but Bram van Geel's diagonal shot was stopped by Jan van Steenberghe's legs.

Ishiaku on target
La Louviére then took the lead in the 27th minute when Manaseh Ishiaku raced clear for a one-one-one with goalkeeper Dusan Belic and slipped the ball into the far corner. Eleven minutes later and it was 2-0. Georges Arts was the man on target, striking a superb first-time volley that gave Van Steenberghe no chance.

Buvens consolation
Desire Mbonabucya almost made it 3-0 early in the second half but was denied by another fine save from Van Steenberghe. However, La Louviére were not to be denied and Nigerian Ishiaku decided the match with another well-taken strike 15 minutes from time. Kris Buvens did pull a goal back on 84 minutes but by then the trophy was already within La Louviére's reach.

European debut
La Louviére, playing in their first ever final, will now make their debut in European competition, having qualified for the UEFA Cup. Sint-Truiden's only route into Europe will come from the UEFA Intertoto Cup.

'Convert the chances'
"On the contrary to our League matches, this time we may have not played our best but now we managed to convert the chances we got," said La Louviére coach Ariel Jacobs. "We will not think about UEFA Cup football yet, that is something for tomorrow. First, we will celebrate this cup victory, as that was what this match was all about."

'Proud of my players'
Sint-Truiden coach Jacky Mathijssen said: "It is hard, but in football not always the best team wins. We have got to learn to live with that. I can only tell you I am proud of my players and of the 20,000 fans that supported us here".