David AtangaGetty

Atanga bags brace, Fortes scores as Oostende maul CS Onhaye

David Atanga was on target twice as Oostende decimated CS Onhaye 8-1 in Tuesday’s Belgian Cup sixth round fixture.

The former Ghana U20 star put up an impressive showing to find the net on two occasions as De Kustboys saw off the third division outfit.

In the nine-goal thriller, Onhaye took a shock lead in the second minute courtesy of Delplank Schelfhout who capitalised on a moment of carelessness from the hosts to fire past goalkeeper Jordi Schelfhout.

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That lead lasted for just three minutes as the Belgian top-flight side restored parity through Marko Kvasina. The Austrian forward completed his brace in the 26th minute to put Oostende ahead.

In the goal-laden first half, Cape Verde international Steven Fortes made it 3-1 in the 37th minute when he headed the ball past a helpless goalkeeper Jeremy De Vriendt.

Four minutes before the half-time break, Kvasina completed his treble with a cool finish as Onhaye went into the half-time break ruing the missed chances.

Notwithstanding their massive lead, manager Alexander Blessin strengthened his team by introducing Brecht Capon and Robbie D'Haese for Siebe Wylin and France youth international of Cameroonian descent Theo Ndicka.

Atanga extended the lead with his 50th-minute finish before completing his double on the hour mark.

A foul in the visiting team’s penalty area ensured that Oostende earned a penalty that was converted by Thierry Ambrose 10 minutes from full-time as Ndicka completed the destruction with his 80th-minute effort.

With this result, the 2016-17 Belgian Cup winners are through to the seventh round of the tournament, with their opponents expected to be announced in the coming days.

In a recent interview with the club website, Fortes had talked about what motivated him to represent Cape Verde despite his eligibility to play for France.

"I was indeed born in France. But my parents are both from Cape Verde,” he said.

“In 2015, the national team of Cape Verde came to ask if I wanted to play for them. Since then, I was often part of the selection and collected six caps.

“For me, it is an honour to represent my parents' country. During the last international break, unlike teammate Kenny Rocha, I was not there because of my injury.

“Fortunately, my country won both qualifiers for the World Cup in 2022. We are in second place in our pool. So, there's a chance we qualify."

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