Racing Genk striker Tolu Arokodare was on the score-sheet as his side squared off with Servette on Wednesday in a UEFA Champions League second leg qualifying match at the Cegeka Arena in Genk.
The match ended 2-2 after normal time and extra time before the tie was decided on penalties.
FULL TIME. #krcgenk #mijnploeg #OverLandEnZee #gnkser pic.twitter.com/VagK8RWgLR
— KRC Genk (@KRCGenkofficial) August 2, 2023
Unfortunately for the Belgian side, the two players who starred in Genk's away draw became the villains during the penalty shootouts. Patrik Hrosovsky and Tolu Arokodare both missed from the spot to dent their team's progression into the next qualifying round.
Both teams' first leg affair had ended in a 1-1 stalemate with the Nigerian forward, Tolu Arokodare also on the score-sheet for his team. as he connected well to Hrosovsky's cross to score with his head.
KRC Genk vs Servette: How it happened
The match began in the worst possible way for the away side as Enzo Crivelli's red card in the fifth minute tilted an early advantage to the home team, KRC Genk.
The one-man advantage for Genk began to take effect as Wouter Vrancken's team showed total dominance and were looking likely to open the scoring.
Mike Tresor opened the scoring for Genk from the penalty spot in the 28th minute, but a few minutes later, Servette drew level as Timothe Cognat scored for the depleted away team in the 36th minute to send the game level at half-time.
In the second half, Genk's dominance continued and it didn't take long for Wouter Vrancken's men to retake the lead, this time with Tolu Arokodare scoring for the second successive game in the qualifying rounds through a header in the 52nd minute.
Although Genk had dominated the game so far, Servette showed character and resilience, as they rallied back to life with an equalizing goal from Chris Bedia in the 63rd minute.
The 22-year-old Arokodare had scored to send Genk into wild celebration, and his team on course to reach the Champions League Round 3 qualifying stage, but Servette's second goal all but ensured the match ended 2-2 apiece after 90 minutes.
In the extra time that followed, there was nothing to separate both teams. The match saw no other goal to send the tie to penalty kicks to decide who plays Rangers in the next round.
Servette, who have showed true strength and resilience despite playing 115 minutes of football with ten men, got the better of Genk as all first-four penalty takers scored either side of the misses from Hrosovsky and Arokodare to knock the home side out of the qualifying rounds.
Tolu Arokodare will not seek to score further goals for Genk in the qualifying rounds as they've been knocked out, effectively ending their Champions League group stage appearance dream.
But for the time being, Arokodare and his Genk team will now shift focus to the league as they welcome Eupen to their home turf next Saturday.
Racing Genk will be fighting to win the Belgian Pro League this season having narrowly missed out on the prize last campaign.
With the towering Nigerian striker scoring and aiding his teammates, Genk can look towards scoring more goals than they did last season and going a step further to attaining their target, the league trophy.
This article was most recently revised and updated 1 year ago
