The 2023 Belgian Cup final, named Croky Cup after the sponsor, was the 68th Belgian Cup final which took place on 30 April 2023. The match was contested by KV Mechelen and Antwerp.
Mechelen had qualified for its seventh Belgian Cup Final on 28 February 2023, and already won the tournament twice, first in 1987 and more recently in 2019. Two days later, Antwerp qualified as well, making this their fifth appearance in the final, having already won the cup three times, most notably in 1992 when they also met KV Mechelen and a penalty shoot-out ended in their favor.
Going into the match, Antwerp were deemed (slight) favorites based on their season thus far. Already certain of qualifying for the 2022–23 Belgian Pro LeagueChampionship Play-offs several weeks before the match, Antwerp was quasi-certain of qualifying for European football during the 2023–24 season. Towards the final matchdays of the regular season, however, the club had edged closer to the top of the table as league leaders Genk started dropping points and as a result, Antwerp would start the Championship Play-offs, to commence a week after the final, just two points off the lead. This momentum on the one hand could give the team extra energy for the Cup final, while on the other hand losing it would put extra pressure on them to obtain the title, which would be their first since 1957.
Meanwhile, while on the road to the final Antwerp had beaten bigger teams (leaders Genk, second-place Union SG as well as Standard Liège), Mechelen had seemingly taken the easier route via teams all finishing in the bottom five of the table, with Seraing and Zulte Waregem even relegated. Furthermore, the team itself had played a dull season, never in real danger of relegation but always in the bottom half of the table. Especially from the moment the team qualified for the final, their league performance dropped with many players seemingly not willing to risk long-term injuries. On the final matchday of the regular season, Mechelen did beat Anderlecht away from home, their first win since early March. As they finished 13th, for Mechelen the league was done for the season, meaning the Cup final would be their last match before the summer break.
The winner of the match will qualify for the 2023–24 UEFA Europa LeaguePlay-off round. If Antwerp were to win but also finish in the top two of the league, they would instead qualify for the qualifying rounds of the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League, with the ticket for the 2023–24 UEFA Europa League Play-off round, in that case, being passed along to the third-place finisher in the league.
Matchedit
Summaryedit
For the first half hour the Antwerp Province derby was a dull match to watch, with a lot of atmosphere in the stands and at the sidelines, but no entertainment on the pitch. This changed when Mechelen defender Dries Wouters made an unfortunate error in the penalty area, fouling Jurgen Ekkelenkamp and causing referee Jonathan Lardot to immediately award a penalty kick to Antwerp. Vincent Janssen scored twice past Gaëtan Coucke, after the first penalty kick was disallowed as he had kicked the ball prior to the referee blowing his whistle to indicate it could be taken. Mechelen responded immediately, with both Nikola Storm and Rob Schoofs getting opportunities to shoot, none without any real danger.
After the break, the level went up strongly for a short period of time as Antwerp received multiple chances to double its lead. Ekkelenkamp shot wide after preparatory work by Arbnor Muja, while Janssen aimed a shot straight at Coucke. Several substitutions as well as injury treatments to Willian Pacho and Janssen caused the pace of the match to slow considerably and it took until ten minutes from time for the match to be decided, when Michel-Ange Balikwisha started a counterattack which he in the end converted himself on an assist from Calvin Stengs. Mechelen was not able to respond and became the logical runner-up in a match without many chances.
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The neutrality of this article is disputed Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met May 2024 Learn how and when to remove this message This article does not cite any sources Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources 2023 Belgian Cup final news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2024 Learn how and when to remove this message The 2023 Belgian Cup final named Croky Cup after the sponsor was the 68th Belgian Cup final which took place on 30 April 2023 The match was contested by KV Mechelen and Antwerp 2023 Belgian Cup finalEvent2022 23 Belgian CupKV Mechelen Antwerp0 2Date30 April 2023VenueKing Baudouin Stadium BrusselsRefereeJonathan LardotAttendance41 500Weathersunny 20222024 Mechelen had qualified for its seventh Belgian Cup Final on 28 February 2023 and already won the tournament twice first in 1987 and more recently in 2019 Two days later Antwerp qualified as well making this their fifth appearance in the final having already won the cup three times most notably in 1992 when they also met KV Mechelen and a penalty shoot out ended in their favor In a dull endeavor Antwerp won the match 2 0 Contents 1 Route to the final 2 Pre match 3 Match 3 1 Summary 3 2 Details 4 Notes 5 References 6 External linksRoute to the final editSee also 2022 23 Belgian Cup Mechelen Antwerp Opponent Result Legs Scorers Round Opponent Result Legs Scorers Lokeren Temse IV 5 0 5 0 away Schoofs Malede 2 Da Cruz Van Hoorenbeeck Sixth round Beveren II 2 2 2 2 away a e t 4 2 p Stengs Tshimanga o g Seraing I 1 0 1 0 home Mrabti Seventh round Standard Liege I 4 0 4 0 home Bataille Frey Muja Stengs Kortrijk I 1 0 1 0 away Walsh Quarter finals Genk I 3 0 3 0 away Janssen De Laet Balikwisha Zulte Waregem I 3 1 2 1 away 1 0 home Storm Mrabti Bates Semi finals Union SG I 1 1 0 1 away 1 0 home a e t 4 3 p none JanssenPre match editGoing into the match Antwerp were deemed slight favorites based on their season thus far Already certain of qualifying for the 2022 23 Belgian Pro League Championship Play offs several weeks before the match Antwerp was quasi certain of qualifying for European football during the 2023 24 season Towards the final matchdays of the regular season however the club had edged closer to the top of the table as league leaders Genk started dropping points and as a result Antwerp would start the Championship Play offs to commence a week after the final just two points off the lead This momentum on the one hand could give the team extra energy for the Cup final while on the other hand losing it would put extra pressure on them to obtain the title which would be their first since 1957 Meanwhile while on the road to the final Antwerp had beaten bigger teams leaders Genk second place Union SG as well as Standard Liege Mechelen had seemingly taken the easier route via teams all finishing in the bottom five of the table with Seraing and Zulte Waregem even relegated Furthermore the team itself had played a dull season never in real danger of relegation but always in the bottom half of the table Especially from the moment the team qualified for the final their league performance dropped with many players seemingly not willing to risk long term injuries On the final matchday of the regular season Mechelen did beat Anderlecht away from home their first win since early March As they finished 13th for Mechelen the league was done for the season meaning the Cup final would be their last match before the summer break The winner of the match will qualify for the 2023 24 UEFA Europa League Play off round If Antwerp were to win but also finish in the top two of the league they would instead qualify for the qualifying rounds of the 2023 24 UEFA Champions League with the ticket for the 2023 24 UEFA Europa League Play off round in that case being passed along to the third place finisher in the league Match editSummary edit For the first half hour the Antwerp Province derby was a dull match to watch with a lot of atmosphere in the stands and at the sidelines but no entertainment on the pitch This changed when Mechelen defender Dries Wouters made an unfortunate error in the penalty area fouling Jurgen Ekkelenkamp and causing referee Jonathan Lardot to immediately award a penalty kick to Antwerp Vincent Janssen scored twice past Gaetan Coucke after the first penalty kick was disallowed as he had kicked the ball prior to the referee blowing his whistle to indicate it could be taken Mechelen responded immediately with both Nikola Storm and Rob Schoofs getting opportunities to shoot none without any real danger After the break the level went up strongly for a short period of time as Antwerp received multiple chances to double its lead Ekkelenkamp shot wide after preparatory work by Arbnor Muja while Janssen aimed a shot straight at Coucke Several substitutions as well as injury treatments to Willian Pacho and Janssen caused the pace of the match to slow considerably and it took until ten minutes from time for the match to be decided when Michel Ange Balikwisha started a counterattack which he in the end converted himself on an assist from Calvin Stengs Mechelen was not able to respond and became the logical runner up in a match without many chances Details edit 30 April 202314 30 CESTKV Mechelen0 2AntwerpReport Janssen nbsp 35 pen Balikwisha nbsp 81 King Baudouin Stadium BrusselsAttendance 41 500Referee Jonathan Lardot nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp KV Mechelen nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Antwerp GK 1 nbsp Gaetan Coucke LB 18 nbsp Alec Van Hoorenbeeck nbsp 63 CB 4 nbsp Dries Wouters CB 30 nbsp Jordi Vanlerberghe CB 27 nbsp David Bates nbsp 84 RB 5 nbsp Sandy Walsh MF 16 nbsp Rob Schoofs MF 7 nbsp Geoffry Hairemans MF 14 nbsp Dimitri Lavalee nbsp 43 nbsp 46 CF 19 nbsp Kerim Mrabti nbsp 75 CF 11 nbsp Nikola Storm Substitutes GK 15 nbsp Yannick Thoelen DF 6 nbsp Jannes Van Hecke FW 9 nbsp Julien Ngoy nbsp 75 FW 10 nbsp Yonas Malede DF 21 nbsp Boli Bolingoli nbsp 63 MF 22 nbsp Alessio da Cruz nbsp 46 DF 23 nbsp Enock Agyei nbsp 84 Manager nbsp Steven Defour GK 1 nbsp Jean Butez RB 2 nbsp Ritchie De Laet CB 51 nbsp Willian Pacho nbsp 69 CB 23 nbsp Toby Alderweireld nbsp 9 LB 34 nbsp Jelle Bataille nbsp 6 nbsp 69 MF 24 nbsp Jurgen Ekkelenkamp nbsp 69 MF 48 nbsp Arthur Vermeeren MF 14 nbsp Calvin Stengs LW 11 nbsp Arbnor Muja CF 18 nbsp Vincent Janssen nbsp 73 RW 7 nbsp Gyrano Kerk nbsp 85 Substitutes GK 26 nbsp Ortwin De Wolf MF 8 nbsp Alhassan Yusuf DF 10 nbsp Michel Ange Balikwisha nbsp 87 nbsp 73 DF 22 nbsp Gaston Avila nbsp 69 MF 27 nbsp Mandela Keita nbsp 69 MF 32 nbsp Christopher Scott nbsp 85 DF 33 nbsp Zeno van den Bosch nbsp 69 Manager nbsp Mark van Bommel Match rules 90 minutes 30 minutes of extra time if necessary Penalty shoot out if scores still level Seven named substitutes Maximum of five substitutions Notes editReferences editExternal links editOfficial website in French and Dutch needs update Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 2023 Belgian Cup final amp oldid 1223505766, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
