Union St Gilloise Dominates Hapoel Beer Sheva 4-0 in Düsseldorf
Union St Gilloise turned a borrowed ground into a statement stage, dismantling Hapoel Beer Sheva 4-0 in Düsseldorf to underline their growing authority in the Europa League.
Forced to play their “home” tie across the border at the Merkur Spiel-Arena, the Belgian side needed time to settle. The surroundings were unfamiliar, the rhythm slow, the game cagey. Then, just before the break, they found their spark.
Raul Florucz, already on as an early substitute for the injured Mateo Biondic, stepped up to the spot and buried his penalty to give Union the lead on the stroke of half-time. It was a clean finish and a cruel twist: the man who rescued the half had only entered because of yet another injury setback.
The knocks kept coming. Darius Olaru was the next to go down, forced off and replaced by Dylan Aquino. Union were losing bodies but gaining purpose.
Second Half
The second half told the story of a side that smelled weakness and refused to let their opponent off the hook.
Brazilian winger Guiherme Smith ignited the onslaught just after the hour. Given a yard, he punished Hapoel Beer Sheva to make it 2-0, and from that moment the contest felt all but over. Union were sharper in the duels, quicker to second balls, ruthless in transition. The Israeli side simply couldn’t live with the tempo.
The pressure only intensified. Aquino, on for the injured Olaru, seized his moment with his first goal for Union St Gilloise since arriving from Lanus in the summer. His strike pushed the scoreline to 3-0 and underlined the depth in this squad: every substitute seemed to bend the match further in Union’s favour.
Smith then returned to the spotlight. In the 80th minute, he struck again, his second of the night and Union’s fourth, to complete a dominant performance and turn a solid win into a statement one. By the final whistle, the makeshift home in Düsseldorf felt very much like their own.
The 4-0 victory keeps Union St Gilloise unbeaten in this Europa League campaign. They opened with a win over Viktoria Plzen, followed it with a 1-1 draw against Real Sociedad, and now have four points from their last two games against strong European opposition.
Next comes another Spanish test: Celta Vigo, fresh from their own away win at Celtic. With Union gathering momentum and goals from all over the pitch, the question is no longer whether they belong at this level, but just how far this European run can go.
