Pre-match
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Going into the match, Antwerp were deemed major favorites after they had won the "double", and were expected to at a third title in a repetition of the 2023 Belgian Cup final against KV Mechelen which they had won comfortably. Both clubs had been able to keep most of their squad together, with the main exceptions being Willian Pacho, Calvin Stengs and Mandela Keita who all left Antwerp, and Alessio da Cruz and Dries Wouters no longer at KV Mechelen.
Antwerp started best in their home stadium, with especially Jelle Bataille and Michel-Ange Balikwisha combining easily early on. Gaëtan Coucke was forced to intervene a first time on an attempt from Bataille, but a minute later and with less than ten minutes played, Balikwisha did score on assist from Bataille. Balikwisha immediately added a second which was disallowed for offside after several minutes of VAR-review. With half time in sight, Antwerp again came close to doubling their lead, the crossbar preventing an own-goal by Jordi Vanlerberghe and Coucke pushing a hard strike from Gastón Ávila over the goal. Despite only leading 1–0, the contest seemed over at halftime already as KV Mechelen had not created a single chance against a dominant Antwerp.
The second half saw both teams play more aggressively, at the expense of the quality of play. Mid-way through the second half, Ávila committed a serious foul on the ankle of Nikola Storm and was sent off. While this did give KV Mechelen more space to create combinations, barely any chances came from it. Seemingly out of the blue, Ritchie De Laet scored an own-goal after poor judgment, resulting in the game to be decided after penalty kicks as no extra-time was foreseen.
Antwerp looked to be losing as they started the penalty series dramatically, scoring only once in their first three attempts. They did remain flawless after that however, with Jean Butez becoming the hero as he first saved a penalty kick, then converted one himself before also forcing Dimitri Lavalée to make a crucial error.
See also
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References
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