Bodø/Glimt beats Union Saint-Gilloise in extra time as Helmersen scores in the 116th minute

Bodø/Glimt beat Union Saint-Gilloise 3-2 at Aspmyra Stadion in a match that needed extra time to find a winner. The Norwegian side got there thanks to a goal from Andreas Helmersen in the 116th minute, after a game that had been tied 2-2 since the 87th minute and wasn't decided until the extra period.

The first half ended scoreless, though not without chances. Ola Brynhildsen crashed a header off the crossbar as early as the 11th minute, and toward the end of the first half Union Saint-Gilloise answered with two shots from Guilherme Smith and Darius Olaru that were blocked inside the box. The Belgian side, despite seeing far less of the ball, looked sharp in the final third.

How the match was decided

The second half opened with Bodø/Glimt breaking the deadlock: in the 50th minute, Ole Didrik Blomberg curled a right footed shot into the top corner from outside the box, assisted by Jens Petter Hauge. The visitors' response came ten minutes later, when Guilherme Smith leveled it in the 60th minute with a similar strike, also from outside the box and also into the top corner, off a pass from Olaru.

The home side went back in front in the 75th minute through Jens Petter Hauge, who finished with his left foot from close range after an assist from Andreas Helmersen. Union Saint-Gilloise refused to fold, though, and as the match entered its closing stretch, Mohammed Fuseini drew it level in the 87th minute with a cross shot from inside the box, assisted by Louis Patris, forcing the 2-2 that stood at the end of regulation.

Deep into second half stoppage time, in the 95th minute, Kamiel Van de Perre was sent off for a second yellow card, leaving the Belgian side with ten men for the remainder of the match, including the entirety of extra time. With that numerical edge, Bodø/Glimt eventually came out on top in the extra period: Andreas Helmersen sealed the 3-2 in the 116th minute with a close range header, in a second period of extra time in which the Norwegian side had already carved out several clear chances through Patrick Berg and Haitam Aleesami.

Dominance in the numbers

The stats reflect Bodø/Glimt's territorial edge throughout the match, though they also show the visitors' efficiency in hurting them with less possession.

According to our own xG estimate for the match, Bodø/Glimt racked up 4.564 expected goals compared to 2.479 for Union Saint-Gilloise, a gap that confirms the home side created more and better chances, even if it struggled to turn that edge into a decisive scoreline before extra time.

What the preview said

The projection published ahead of the match gave Bodø/Glimt a 75% chance of winning, against 8% for Union Saint-Gilloise and 17% for a draw, with expected goals of 2.6 for the home side and 0.8 for the visitors. The final result turned out to be far tighter than expected: the Belgian side held firm right up to the last gasp of regulation and only gave way in extra time, a man down, which shows that the Norwegians' status as favorites didn't translate into a comfortable win.

The match leaves Bodø/Glimt needing extra time and a rival's red card to claim the win, and Union Saint-Gilloise, despite the loss, holding their own for the full 90 minutes and only running out of answers once fatigue and the numerical disadvantage took their toll in extra time.