On Wednesday evening, Union Saint-Gilloise came away from Cercle Brugge's stadium with a 1-1 draw. While the draw extends their unbeaten run to 13 matches, the Brussels side was hoping to head home with a better result.
Having recently consolidated their second place in the league table with a 2-0 win against Royal Antwerp, Union was hoping for another win in Wednesday's tie with the Flemish side.
The two clubs' fanbases are twinned, with Union flags having been spotted in the Cercle section and vice-versa.
However, Cercle Brugge did not make it easy for the Brussels club, who pushed for a goal in the first half to no end. Furthermore, Union's star striker Dante Vanzeir was forced off just before the stroke of half-time due to injury.
In the second half, Cercle Brugge were on the front foot, constantly testing Union's goalkeeper Antony Morris.
The Luxembourger failed to push out Thibo Somers' shot, which gave Cercle the lead in the 68th minute. Facing their first loss in 13 matches, Union managed to pull an equaliser out of their bag thanks to Gustaf Nilsson's goal in the 82nd minute, with the match finishing 1-1.
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The result sees Union maintain their second place, but the gap has widened with league leaders Genk to 9 points. Head coach Karel Geraerts stated after the match that "we were not in our best form today."Nonetheless, "taking a point after being behind here is a good thing for the team," Geraerts added.
All eyes will now be on the Croky Cup, where Union play Royal Antwerp in the first leg of the semi-finals on Wednesday, 1 February.
