In the penultimate weekend of playoff action, both Yanks’ teams came out losers and will see their 2021-22 seasons end this coming weekend.
Antwerp 1 – 3 Club Brugge
Sam Vines started on the bench for Antwerp but made an appearance in the 67th minute, however by that time Club Brugge had already scored all of their goals. The loss means that the Great Old will finish bottom of the group. But there is some good news.
With Gent winning the play-off group and also having secured a UEFA Europa League spot due to the fact that they won the Belgian Cup, there will be no further play-offs because that would only mean a shot at a UEFA Conference League place, which of course is below the Europa League. This means that Vines and Antwerp will take the Conference League spot for the new season.
Genk will finish out the season in Brussels against Union Saint Gilloise (USG) with nothing to play for.
Gent 2 – 0 Genk
Mark McKenzie stayed rooted to the bench when Gent came to town and beat their hosts by 2 goals to none. With just one game left, Gent has already won the play-off group, leaving the Smurfs in second, thus ending their season.
The American defender will hope to see the season out when Genk travels to Mechelen for their curtain closer.
Notes
With both Club Brugge winning against Antwerp and USG beating Anderlecht in the Brussels derby, the Brugge boys keep their three point lead and look to have retained their Belgian League title with just the one game left. A Union victory and Club loss would put both teams on 49 points, however Club are five points better off in the goal difference department. It will all however, be decided over the weekend.