 Image before the kickoff | |||||||
| Event | 2018–19 Belgian Cup | ||||||
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| Date | 1 May 2019 | ||||||
| Venue | King Baudouin Stadium,Brussels | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Michael Verrips | ||||||
| Referee | Erik Lambrechts | ||||||
| Attendance | 44,771 | ||||||
| Weather | sunny | ||||||
←2018 2020 → | |||||||
The2019 Belgian Cup final, named Croky Cup after the sponsor, was the 64thBelgian Cup final and took place on 1 May 2019 betweenGent andKV Mechelen. KV Mechelen was the first team from outside the top division to qualify for the cup final since the2001 Belgian Cup Final whenBelgian Second Division championsLommel lost toWesterlo. KV Mechelen won the cup by two goals to one.
KV Mechelen qualified on 29 January 2019 and played its sixth final, losing on all previous occasions except for the1987 Belgian Cup Final, where they beatRFC Liège by 1–0.Gent qualified one day later following a win onpenalty kicks againstOostende. Gent played their fifth final, winning already on three occasions, most recently they won the2010 Belgian Cup Final againstCercle Brugge with a convincing 3–0 result.
In the weeks prior the match, the2017–18 Belgian football fraud investigation had come into full focus as KV Mechelen was being accused of match fixing, causing theRoyal Belgian Football Association to penalise the team by not allowing them to promote (despite becoming champions in the2018–19 Belgian First Division B just a few weeks earlier), prohibiting them to play European football for the coming season and deducting 12 points from the start of the 2019–20 season.[1]
As the winner of the 2019 Belgian Cup Final qualifies for thegroup stage of the2019–20 UEFA Europa League, a win by KV Mechelen would also impact the European places distribution and cause a scheduling problem, as in this case the third-placed team in theChampionship play-offs would enter at this stage instead with all other European places shifting down accordingly. As a result, the fifth- rather than fourth-placed team from the Championship play-offs will have to play theEuropa League play-off final against the winner of the Europa League play-offs, a match which is scheduled for 26 May 2019. The final ruling on the fraud investigation however is only scheduled for 27 and 28 May 2019, which could overturn the decision to prohibit KV Mechelen from playing in Europe.
Besides the negative impact of the football fraud investigation, both teams went into the final in bad spell. KV Mechelen had not played a competitive match for over six weeks as their season had already ended mid-March when winning thepromotion play-offs againstBeerschot Wilrijk. On top of that their central midfielderOnur Kaya was unavailable due to yellow card suspension. Gent on the other hand was still active in theChampionship play-offs, but had only obtained one single point out of their last six matches at the time of the cup final. Gent playersRoman Yaremchuk (suspension) andGiorgi Chakvetadze (injury) were unavailable for the match.
| Gent | KV Mechelen | |||||||
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| Opponent | Result | Legs | Scorers | Round | Opponent | Result | Legs | Scorers |
| bye | Fifth round | Albert Quévy-Mons (V) | 2–0 | 2–0 home | Tainmont (2) | |||
| Virton (III) | 4–2 | 4–2 away | Awoniyi (2),Limbombe (2) | Sixth round | Antwerp (I) | 3–1 | 3–1 home | De Witte,Engvall,Van Damme |
| Beerschot Wilrijk (II) | 3–0 | 3–0 home | Yaremchuk,Rosted,Chakvetadze | Seventh round | Lokeren (I) | 2–0 | 2–0 home | Engvall,de Camargo |
| Sint-Truiden (I) | 3–1 | 3–1 away | Dompé (2),Yaremchuk | Quarter-finals | Kortrijk (I) | 3–0 | 3–0 home | Cocalić,Storm,de Camargo |
| Oostende (I) | 4–4 | 2–2 home; 2–2 away (a.e.t.) (4–3p) | Yaremchuk,Bronn;Sørloth,Bezus | Semi-finals | Union SG (II) | 2–1 | 0–0 home; 2–1 away | de Camargo,Tainmont |
Despite a sunny afternoon and a packed stadium, both clubs looked uninspired in the early stages of the match, with the first opportunity coming only after fifteen minutes asJonathan David's shot tested KV Mechelen goalkeeperMichael Verrips a first time. With just over half an hour on the clock the match opened up, starting with a long range free kick byNikola Storm, who surprised everyone by aiming straight for goal. His shot hit the post, with replays showing Gent goalkeeperThomas Kaminski had deflected the ball with his fingertips first. RefereeErik Lambrechts had not noticed and thus did not award a corner kick, allowing Gent to launch a counter-attack from which they scored. Initial shots byNana Asare andBirger Verstraete were blocked causing a scramble in front of the KV Mechelen goal beforeJean-Luc Dompé was able to benefit and open the score. KV Mechelen, who were deemed underdogs, did not give up and managed to score just a few minutes later through Storm who volleyed in the equaliser, shooting the ball between the legs of Kaminski.Rob Schoofs had the opportunity to give KV Mechelen the lead just before the half-time break, but this time Kaminski was able to make a save.
In the second half, Gent had more possession of the ball but failed to created any chances. On the hour mark, Kaminksi misjudged a free-kick by Storm, allowingGermán Mera to score through a header to put KV Mechelen in the lead. Gent took the match in control from that point on, crossing many balls into the box, with Verrips required to make several key saves, blocking shots fromVadis Odjidja-Ofoe,Roman Bezus andAlexander Sørloth. Several players of KV Mechelen started suffering from cramps as they had not played any competitive match for over six weeks and the team came under severe pressure. With just minutes on the clock however, a breakaway ended in a one-on-one situation betweenTim Matthys and Kaminski, but Matthys' shot was saved, handing Gent a lifeline. Odjidja-Ofoe however placed a large opportunity wide just before the final whistle, handing KV Mechelen a second Belgian Cup win.[2]
With KV Mechelen on trial for alleged match-fixing as part of the2017–18 Belgian football fraud investigation, it remained uncertain whether they would be allowed to take part in the2019–20 UEFA Europa Leaguegroup stage for which they would normally qualify by virtue of winning the cup. The club was eventually found guilty and the European ticket moved to the third-placed finisher in the2018–19 Belgian First Division AChampionship play-offs,Standard Liège.
         Gent |  Mechelen |
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Match rules
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