BERLIN, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Union Saint-Gilloise of Belgium advanced into the UEFA Conference League last 16 on Thursday, edging Eintracht Frankfurt 4-3 on aggregate.

In the second leg match on Thursday, goals from Cameron Puertas and Dennis Eckert Ayensa secured Union Saint-Gilloise a 2-1 win.

Both sides started cautiously, with goal opportunities at a premium for the first 45 minutes.

Hosts Eintracht thought they had broken the deadlock with 16 minutes played, but Fares Chaibi's goal was ruled offside by the referee.

Chaibi remained in the thick of things as he created the best chance of the first half in injury time when Union goalkeeper Anthony Moris palmed his free kick over the bar.

The visitors made a dream start to the second half as Mohammed Amoura danced through Eintracht's territory before squaring to Puertas, who drilled the ball from 16 meters into the top-left corner.

Eintracht tried to respond but lacked in ideas, as Omar Marmoush's long-range effort missed the target at the hour mark.

Union lurked for counterattacks but failed to score a second in the 70th minute, as Puertas couldn't beat Eintracht goalkeeper Kevin Trapp.

The hosts almost levelled seven minutes later, but Moris saved Niels Nkounkou's dangerous header.

Eintracht's hopes of a comeback suffered a heavy setback as Puertas headed into the path of Ayensa, who netted from a tight angle on 80 minutes.

The Eagles halved the deficit seven minutes later as Dina Ebimbe headed home Chaibi's pinpoint cross.

However, the goal came too late for Eintracht, as Union's defense stood firm to book their place in the next round.

"It is tough to analyse today's match. We lacked in penetration and had a hard time to produce goal scoring opportunities. After the 2-0, we had to throw every man up front, but it wasn't enough today. A tough loss to digest," rued Eintracht captain Kevin Trapp. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)