The third round of the domestic cup competition was played out over the weekend in challenging weather conditions, as thick fog descended over the majority of the country, prompting two games to be postponed to a later date and drastically reducing visibility across the pitches.

The two matches to take place at a later date will be Belval Belvaux vs Mondorf (cancelled after 50 minutes with the score standing at 1-1) and Union Titus Pétange vs Fola Esch (0-0 at half-time). The federation will announce the replay dates in due course.

For the meantime, 12 BGL Ligue teams are still in the race for the trophy (the number will certainly be lower for the next round, once Fola and Union are allowed to take on each other). Notable losers of the round include Rodange, who lost to a lower-league opponent in Jeunesse Canach, and Schifflange, who were beaten by a third-division team despite spending last year in the National Division.

Hesper the first of the gang to go

Swift Hesper are the first real contenders to say farewell to the competition this season, after a tough draw paired them up with Racing Union Luxembourg in the Round of 32.

The game on Saturday night was played out in a similarly arduous weather than the one others experienced on Sunday, as the two teams occasionally found it hard to build direct attacks in the mist surrounding everyone. It was also made cagier by the fact that this was a knockout match between two very pragmatic sides managed by experienced coaches who opted not to overcommit in attack unless it was necessary. One goal could mean an exit from the competition, after all.

The breakthrough came early on, when Okpo Mazie took the lead for the club from the City on 12 minutes, which he later doubled at the beginning of the second half. Hesper, largely playing with their strongest XI and an almost unchanged lineup from last week, was unable to come back from their two-goal deficit, RFCUL goalkeeper Romain Ruffier saving all attempts on goal from the guests.

His opposite number, Géordan Dupire, had conceded a goal for the first time in 698 minutes on the pitch, after a remarkable sheet of seven full clean sheets since Hesper’s shock 3-0 defeat to Bettembourg in September. His record is still impressive, and it does carry on in the league, but these two goals will be a bitter pill to swallow for Hesper, whose only chance of winning a silverware this season now lies in the league, where they have to overcome a yet-unbeaten Differdange.

Racing thus progress to the next round, where they are likely to get a somewhat more favourable draw after knocking out one of the main contenders. Ironically, the capital team seemingly struggled more against fourth-division Oberkorn in the previous round, whom they failed to beat over the 90 minutes and only found a winner in extra time. Whether facing dominant teams suits Racing’s playing style more is open to interpretation, but with their latest result, they have showed that they can compete against the very best in the Grand Duchy.

Minerva: the fairytale story

Fourth-tier Minerva Lëntgen continued to exceed expectations by qualifying for the Round of 16 after a spectacular penalty shootout against DC Echternach on Sunday. They managed to proceed despite continuously being pushed to the brink of elimination by their opponents.

The game was in a state of deadlock up until the 114th minute, the second period of extra time, when Sebastiano Muccino scored what seemed to be a winner for guests Echternach. The equaliser didn’t come in the 120-minute extra time – but it did in the closing seconds of the one minute of stoppage time, when substitute Armin Sabotić came to the rescue, sending the crowd into ruptures.

Then came the penalty shootout, where both Muccino and Sabotić scored early on, alongside four teammates each. Bacar Sahna was the first one to miss their spot kick, at 5-5, but Echternach failed to capitalise on his mistake, before later missing another one themselves, which proved to be the final kick of the evening.

Minerva eventually progressed with a 7-6 penalty shootout victory following the 1-1 score after extra time. Echternach are the second team to be upset by Minerva despite being clear underdogs before the tie, as second-division Atert Bissen suffered the same fate in October.

There are no easy opponents in the hat anymore – although with a number of second- and third-tier sides still in the race, the biggest surprise packages of the 2024 edition can dare to dream.

Dudelange face unexpected resistance

Only one day after Hesperange’s elimination, Dudelange almost followed suit, although in a vastly different fashion.

Their opponents were Union Remich Bous, middling in the third-division without a realistic chance to break out of the amateur world. Bolstered by the experience of former F91 marksman Sanel Ibrahimović, the rest of the team were comfortably below the level of their opponents, who were battling for a UEFA Conference League group stage place in the summer.

The state of the game did not reflect any of the gaping differences between the two sides, and the half-time score was surprisingly 1-0 for Union, courtesy of an Ibrahimović strike.

Captain Mehdi Kirch did well to restore parity in the 51st minute, before a two-minute double salvo essentially sealed the game: Filip Bojić’s goal in the 63rd minute were followed up right away by another one from Toni Luisi – the Luxembourger came off the bench to score his first goal for the club since joining in June.

Remich still had enough willpower to muster a comeback through Daryl Beaucal’s consolation goal, but they came up just short, partly thanks to a red card to goalkeeper Rayane Aalala (a former Dudelange academy graduate).

Leaving the southeast after the game, the mood inside the Dudelange camp was one of relief, but it could also well be one of worry, at the alarming number of goals conceded. In the previous round, they also conceded two against Syra Mensdorf, another amateur side. In the BGL Ligue, they have the worst defensive record among the Top 6 sides at the moment.

While their goalscoring ability is inevitable, and they keep showing excellent efficiency and prowess in the opponents’ box, such a gung-ho approach might backfire later in the campaign.

Around the pitches

Differdange experienced one of their toughest challenges of the entire season so far, but saw second-division Alisontia Steinsel off with a 1-0 win, with the goal coming from Artur Abreu (his fourth goal contribution in his last four appearances).

Progrès Niederkorn could afford some rotation in their lineup for their clash against US Rumelange, going on to win 3-1. An early two-goal lead gave them comfort for the rest of the game and the only worry for the Wasps is Ken Corral’s stoppage-time red card.

Bastendorf are one of only two third-division teams to go through, beating minnows Orania Vianden after extra time. A disappointing showing from the hosts, perhaps, but enough to see them through in the end.

The other third-tier representative in the next round will be Yellow Boys Weiler, who surprisingly beat Schifflange without conceding a single goal. The former club of Miralem Pjanić and Nabil Dirar seems to be crumbling and straying closer and closer towards two successive relegations.

The other two bottom-placed sides in last season’s National Division played each other in one of the most entertaining and well-contested clashes of the day. Käerjéng came out as narrow winners, edging past Marisca Mersch after a penalty shootout. The outcome is hardly surprising considering Marisca’s struggles and UNK’s ravaging start to the season in the Éierepromotioun.

FC Mondercange recorded a 6-1 win in the previous round against Rupensia Larochette, but now suffered a defeat of the same scoreline against Wiltz 71. Wiltz themselves have had their fair share of struggles in the first division, so the gap in performance between the teams on Sunday must be the most worrying aspect for FCM fans. The team’s chances are dreadful enough in the league, and now they are out of the cup altogether.

Jeunesse Esch did what was required of them as a 1-0 win saw them through against second-division Walferdange. Young striker Liam Nürenberg scored the decider in the last minute of normal time, ensuring the participation of at least one Esch-sur-Alzette club in the next round.

Victoria Rosport and Bettembourg played out a fairly-contested affair at PartyRent Arena. A late brace from former Luxembourg youth international Yan Bouché tipped the scales in his team’s favour to allow Martin Forkel’s team to dream on about another remarkable cup run.

UNA Strassen scored the most goals on the day – including penalty shootouts(!) – as they coasted past Union Kayl-Tétange by an 8-0 scoreline. The third-division side did well to reach this far but came up way too short against a Strassen team under the guidance of new manager Stefano Bensi, after the dismissal of Vítor Pereira.

US Hostert complete the 16-strong field with a win over Jeunesse Junglinster. Kenan Avdusinović scored his first goal since coming back from an injury sustained in October, while goals from Kévin Quinol, Mathieu Leroux and Diogo Fernandes survive an early scare in a game where the guests took the lead after 20 minutes.

What next?

The teams will now take a short break during the November international window, before domestic football continues on 23 November.