Club Brugge win Belgian Cup final thriller
Sunday, March 22, 2015
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The Belgian Cup final was heading for extra time after an 88th-minute equaliser but Lior Refaelov's late volley earned Club Brugge KV their first major trophy in eight years.
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UEFA Europa League hopefuls Club Brugge KV have captured their first major trophy in eight years after edging out RSC Anderlecht in a thrilling Belgian Cup final.
When Aleksandar Mitrović finally ended Mathew Ryan's resistance and cancelled out Tom De Sutter's fine early volley with just two minutes to go, the match in Brussels seemed destined for an extra half-hour. Lior Refaelov had other ideas, though, as he connected with a left-footed volley deep into added time to earn Club Brugge their first silverware since 2007.
"Everyone at the club has been waiting to win a prize for so long," said coach Michel Preud'homme. "I soon realised that and it makes me so happy to do it. It was not easy after the European away match [on Thursday]. The first trophy is always the most difficult. Now we will wait and see what the rest of the season brings us."
Club Brugge lead the way in the First League title race after the end of the regular season, with the championship play-off to come. They are also through to the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals after overcoming Beşiktaş JK in Istanbul on Thursday. They now face FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk on 16 and 23 April.
