Union St Gilloise dominate in Dusseldorf as Hapoel Beer Sheva crumble

Under the bright lights of the Merkur Spiel‑Arena in Dusseldorf, the Belgian side Union St Gilloise prepared for a Europa League tie that, for the first half, saw the Israeli visitors Hapoel Beer Sheva hold their ground but still struggled to create clear chances.

Second‑half onslaught seals win

Union St Gilloise finally found rhythm after a cautious start. Playing their ‘home’ tie across the border in Germany, they turned the Merkur Spiel‑Arena in Dusseldorf into a fortress, scoring three goals in the second half to seal a 4‑0 win in the Europa League.

Raul Florucz opened the scoring just before the break, converting a penalty to make it 1‑0. He had come on for Mateo Biondic early in the game, while Darius Olaru later left injured and was replaced by Dylan Aquino.

Aquino made an instant impact, netting his first goal for Union St Gilloise since arriving from Lanus, pushing the score to 3‑0.

Brazilian winger Guiherme Smith then struck just after the hour mark to make it 2‑0, before adding a second on the 80th minute to complete the comfortable victory.

The result leaves the Belgian side unbeaten in the Europa League, having beaten Viktoria Plzen and drawn 1‑1 with Real Sociedad. Their next challenge is another Spanish club, Celta Vigo, who also won yesterday away to Celtic.