2012 Belgian Cup final

The 2012 Belgian Cup final, named the Cofidis Cup after the sponsor, was played on 24 March 2012 between Kortrijk and Lokeren. It was the 57th Belgian Cup final and was won by Lokeren.

2012 Belgian Cup final
Event2011–12 Belgian Cup
Date24 March 2012
VenueKing Baudouin Stadium, Brussels
RefereeJérôme Efong Nzolo

The match started intensely, with both teams attacking from the start. Kortrijk already had a scoring chance within the first minute, while Lokeren scored an early goal through Hamdi Harbaoui which was correctly disallowed for offside. The major talking point of the match happened after 19 minutes, when a linesman signalled a foul by Lokeren forward and Belgian international Benjamin De Ceulaer, who was subsequently dismissed by referee Jérôme Efong Nzolo with a red card. Nzolo followed the instructions of his assistant and initially showed the red card to a Kortrijk player, when the linesman made clear it should have been De Ceulaer. Both spectators in the stadium and through radio and television broadcast were left unsure about the exact reason as initial replays showed a struggle between Brecht Capon and De Ceulaer, for which a red card seemed very harsh. Although Lokeren played more defensively after the red card, a moderate Kortrijk was not able to create any major chances for the remainder of the first half.

During the second half, Kortrijk did push for the goal and almost scored, with Nebojša Pavlović just missing the cross from Mohamed Messoudi, Ernest Nfor testing the reflexes of Lokeren goalkeeper Copa and Dalibor Veselinović heading a chance wide. In the attacking department of Lokeren, Hamdi Harbaoui was left to handle it on his own, not managing to create any danger. However, with just over an hour played, Lokeren coach brought in Baye Djiby Fall to strengthen the attack and after 77 minutes a play between Fall, Nill De Pauw and Harbaoui set up the latter to lob the ball over Kortrijk goalie Darren Keet. Lokeren was under moderate pressure during the final minutes, but ultimately held on without giving away any major chances. With that, Lokeren had won its first Belgian Cup.[1]

Right after the match, Benjamin De Ceulaer stated that "I'm very happy for our team and president. But for me... the referee took away the most beautiful moment of my career. I will never forgive him. I hope I never meet him again. I refuse to look him in the eye from now on.", but zoomed in replays of the phase indeed showed that De Ceulaer had kicked the legs of Brecht Capon while the ball was nowhere near. Referee Nzolo also stated that he stood behind his decision and although he was forced to follow the judgement of his linesman anyway, he also believed that the linesman made the right judgement and De Ceulaer had been sent off for valid reasons.[2]

Road to the Final

LokerenRoundKortrijk
Eupen [D2]
H
30
De Ceulaer 21', 64'
Harbaoui 83'
Round SixAntwerp [D2]
H
11 (AET)
p.s.: 65
Joseph-Monrose 56'
Westerlo [D1]
H
31
Marić 40' (pen.)
Finnbogason 80', 84'
Round SevenSint-Truiden [D1]
H
10
Nfor 50'
Gent [D1]
H
11
Mokulu 1'Quarter Finals
First Leg
Beerschot [D1]
H
20
Zukanović 81'
Messoudi 84'
Gent [D1]
A
33
Marić 33' (pen.)
Patosi 50'
Persoons 87'
Quarter Finals
Second Leg
Beerschot [D1]
A
12
Veselinović 67'
Lierse [D1]
H
10
Taravel 57'Semi-finals
First Leg
Mons [D1]
A
21
Joseph-Monrose 62'
Messoudi 90'
Lierse [D1]
A
30
De Pauw 38', 83'
Persoons 42'
Semi-finals
Second Leg
Mons [D1]
H
22
Joseph-Monrose 33'
Sapina 37' (OG)

Match details

Lokeren1–0Kortrijk
Harbaoui 77'
Lokeren
Kortrijk
LOKEREN:
GK21Ivory Coast Copa
DF13Greece Georgios Galitsios
DF23Senegal Ibrahima Gueye
DF4France Jérémy Taravel
DF28Belgium Laurens De Bock
MF7Belgium Killian Overmeire
MF8Belgium Koen Persoons
MF10Croatia Ivan Lekodownward-facing red arrow 62'
FW29Belgium Nill De Pauwdownward-facing red arrow 90+3'
FW9Tunisia Hamdi Harbaouidownward-facing red arrow 86'
FW11Belgium Benjamin De CeulaerRed card 19'
Substitutes:
DF3Morocco Hassan El Mouatazupward-facing green arrow 86'
MF6Democratic Republic of the Congo Tiko
GK12Serbia Jugoslav Lazić
FW14Democratic Republic of the Congo Benjamin Mokulu
MF17Norway Geir Ludvig Fevangupward-facing green arrow 90+3'
FW19Senegal Baye Djiby Fallupward-facing green arrow 62'
MF24South Africa Ayanda Patosi
Manager:
Belgium Peter Maes
KORTRIJK:
GK16South Africa Darren Keet
MF21Belgium Brecht Capon
DF3France Baptiste MartinYellow card 25'
DF23Bosnia and Herzegovina Ervin Zukanović
MF11Morocco Mustapha Oussalah
MF8Serbia Nebojša Pavlović
MF17Belgium Gertjan De MetsYellow card 60'
MF10Cameroon Ernest Nfordownward-facing red arrow 69'
MF20Belgium Mohamed Messoudi
FW18Argentina Pablo ChavarríaYellow card 13'downward-facing red arrow 81'
FW9Serbia Dalibor Veselinović
Substitutes:
GK1Belgium Kristof van Hout
MF4Senegal Ismaïla N'Diaye
DF5France Alassane També
DF6Belgium David Wijns
FW7France Steeven Joseph-Monroseupward-facing green arrow 69'
DF14Democratic Republic of the Congo Landry Mulemo
MF19Belgium Brecht Dejaeghereupward-facing green arrow 81'
Manager:
Belgium Hein Vanhaezebrouck
MATCH RULES
  • 90 minutes.
  • 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary.
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level.
  • Maximum 7 named substitutes
  • Maximum of 3 substitutions.

See also

References

  1. "Lokeren wins cup for the first time" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2012-03-24. Archived from the original on 2013-01-15. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  2. "De Ceulaer: "I'll never forgive the referee"" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2012-03-24.
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