Union St Gilloise Dominates Hapoel Beer Sheva 4-0 in Europa League

Union St Gilloise turned a borrowed ground into a statement stage, dismantling Hapoel Beer Sheva 4-0 in Düsseldorf to tighten their grip on Europa League Group action.

They needed time to settle into their ‘home’ away from home at the Merkur Spiel-Arena. The rhythm was hesitant, the passing a little cautious, and the evening briefly darkened by an early injury to Mateo Biondic, who limped off and handed his place to Raul Florucz.

Then the game changed.

Just before the break, Florucz stepped up to the spot and buried his penalty, a clean, decisive strike that sliced through the tension and sent Union into half-time with a lead their growing control deserved. The substitute had swung the night in their favour, only for the injury curse to strike again when Darius Olaru was forced off, replaced by Dylan Aquino.

Any sense of disruption vanished after the interval. Union emerged with a sharper edge, their play quicker, more vertical, the pressure constant. Hapoel Beer Sheva began to sag under the weight of it.

The breakthrough that killed the contest came just after the hour. Brazilian winger Guiherme Smith, increasingly dangerous on the flank, found his moment and made it 2-0, a goal that reflected Union’s authority and Hapoel’s growing fatigue. The German air suddenly felt a lot more like Brussels.

The pressure didn’t ease. Union hunted a third, and the substitutes refused to stay in the shadows. Aquino, on the pitch because of Olaru’s injury, pounced to score his first goal for the club since arriving from Lanus in the summer, stretching the scoreline to 3-0 and underlining the depth in this squad. One enforced change had won a penalty; another had joined the party on the scoresheet.

Smith then returned to centre stage. In the 80th minute, he struck again, his second of the night, to complete a 4-0 rout that felt as comfortable as the scoreline suggests. By the closing stages, Union were stroking the ball around a subdued Hapoel side, the contest long since decided.

This was no isolated performance. The result keeps Union St Gilloise unbeaten in the Europa League: a hard-earned win over Viktoria Plzen, a composed 1-1 draw with Real Sociedad, and now a ruthless dismantling of Hapoel Beer Sheva on neutral soil.

Next comes another Spanish test in the shape of Celta Vigo, fresh from their own away win at Celtic. Union will not fear them. On this evidence, it might be Celta who glance at the fixture list and wonder how far this Belgian side can actually go.