Revisiting the 2022 Belgian Cup Final: Vincent Kompany’s last dance

Standing in the way of Kompany and a first trophy as head coach of Anderlecht was Hein Vanhaezebrouck’s Gent. They had beaten Belisia, Lommel, Standard Liege and Club Brugge on their way to the final, a more impressive run on paper compared to Anderlecht.

During the regular season, Gent had missed out on the top four and ended up in play-off two, although they did then go on to win this and qualify for Europe. On the 18th April 2022, the two sides met at the King Baoudouin Stadium in what would be a cagey affair. Anderlecht’s Hendrik van Crombrugge was the busier of the two goalkeepers, but neither side could break the deadlock and the game ended 0-0 in both regular and extra time. Penalties were required, and sadly for Kompany, his most reliable player of that season would end up missing a crucial spot kick.

Josh Cullen had been with Anderlecht for two seasons after leaving West Ham. He had been an integral part of Kompany’s system and it is not surprising that the midfielder would follow Kompany to Burnley that summer. However, with the score at 4-3, Cullen stepped up. The Irish midfielder would only score one goal for Anderlecht during his 80 games. His penalty was by no means bad, aiming for the corner, but Davy Roef is something of a penalty specialist and he guessed well to make the save.

Gent defender Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui looked to have spared Cullen’s blushes and given the Mauves a lifeline when he missed the penalty that would have sealed Gent’s victory, with van Crombrugge making an excellent save. However, Panama international Michael Murillo saw Roef guess correctly for the second time in a row, winning the cup for Gent.

For Kompany, this marked the end of his time in charge at Anderlecht. The board believed that he could have achieved more, which led to him departing to take over at Burnley. He has certainly proven that this is one of the biggest mistakes Anderlecht have made in recent years. While he is leading Bayern Munich to trophies, the side are still waiting for their first piece of silverware since 2017. Perhaps they will end this drought tomorrow?

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson