Differdange 03 v Dudelange 91. (2-2, Differdange won 5-4 on penalties)
Exactly 100 years from when Red Boys, a predecessor of 03, first won the Luxembourg Cup the modern version did the same at the well appointed Stade de Luxembourg.
It also completed the domestic league and cup double for Pedro Resende’s team.
In a small, multilingual, country that is surrounded by larger European nations, it was not surprising that both these teams featured players from France, Germany, Portugal, and a couple from Africa.
And it was, ultimately, Frenchmen who would decide the outcome.
Before that, the first half produced a tale of two headers, firstly Differdange defender Kevin D’Anzico hit the bar then Samir Hadji (son of the more famous Mustapha) rose well to put Dudelange in front.
Differdange had had much more of the ball but without creating too many chances, while Bruno Freire (Cape Verde) and in particular, Algerian Bilal Benhedim, had been influential in the opposition midfield.
As the game wore on, with the men in red often being caught offside, the pressure eventually built up and substitute El Idrissi delivered a great chipped pass for Portuguese Diogo Silva to head over goalie Desprez for 1-1.
That left ten minutes remaining, and with the weather getting chillier, the tie would end all square.
Whereas extra time is not usually too exciting this time we definitely had some drama.
Initially Hadji broke down the right and his cross was inadvertently turned into his own goal by the unfortunate D’Anzico on 109 minutes.
Then we had frantic efforts by Differdange to level as they hit the post and had various shots blocked before, with four remaining, Fonseca was adjudged to have handled in the area.
French midfielder Guillaume Trani duly dispatched the spot kick to make it 2-2.
And so we went on to a penalty shootout.
Which featured a ‘Panenka’ by Argentine Federico Varela but, more crucially, a wild,’row Z’ attempt by Dudelange’s Guilain Zrankeon.
That Frenchman would go away distraught, before the denouement was delivered by that other key Frenchman, the fifth scorer - Trani.
As usual it was a dramatic ending to a shootout, with a memorable moment for some and a traumatic moment for other players (and one in particular)
Report from Luxembourg - John Bethell
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