It was a great night for Mark McKenzie and Genk as they crushed Westerlo. Mark McKenzie played 90 but minutes were hard to come by for other Belgian based Americans.
Westerlo 6 – 0 Oostende
Bryan Reynolds started and put in a 78 minute shift as the league’s newcomers annihilated the Seasiders as five different players scored six goals against 14th place Oostende. Lyle Foster scored a brace while four others got on the score board. Three goals were scored in both halves.
It took just Nene Dorgeles just 16 minutes to score his fifth goal of the season, to get back into the swing of things after serving a suspension A dozen minutes later Tuur Dierckx doubled the lead. Five minutes before the intermission as the hosts attacked, their American defender was brought down in the box. Former Belgian international Nacer Chadli put the ball on the spot and put the game to bed with his second goal of the season
After the break it was business as usual for Westerlo and goal number four hit the back of the net just four minutes into the half. It was South African Foster who scored his seventh goal of the season. His eighth came minutes later.
Halil Akbunar struck in the 81th minute to end the routing of Oostende.
After the World Cup break, December 27th in fact, Reynolds’ side will a Vine-less Antwerp.
Anderlecht 0 – 2 Genk
Mark McKenzie went the distance for Genk as they ended Anderlecht’s five game unbeaten streak with a two goal victory.
The game was delayed for 15 minutes due to heavy traffic around the stadium in Brussels but it didn’t put off the visitors as they went to work quickly, getting a pair of decent shots off before the big front man, Paul Onuachu rippled the net in the 19th minute , having been set up by Daniel Munoz. The strike, the Nigerian’s 13th of the season, turned out to be the game winner but it was followed by another.
Although Anderlecht had more shots on target, they never managed to get one into the Genk net, unlike Gerardo Arteaga who bumbled the ball over the goal line before heading to Qatar with the Mexican National Team, sealing the 2-0 victory. After Arteaga gets back to Belgium, he and Genk will face Anderlecht again, but this time at home and in Belgian Cup action.
Notes
Saturday night KV Mechelen headed to Charleroi and were unfortunately caught up in the flying debris that was intended for the home team as the Zebras’ fans protested their team’s recent poor results. Having gone down 1-0, the Kakkers wouldn’t see the end of the game after the referee abandoned it in the 67th minute after smoke bombs continued to fly onto the field.
American Jorge Hernandez will hope to take part in the re-play, if one does take place but a Charleroi forfeit is more likely. Mechelen will next be in action on December 21st when they host Seraing.
Sam Vines missed Royal Antwerp’s 2-2 draw against Club Brugge. The American broke his tibia and will not only miss the World Cup but also 3-4 after surgery.
Tyler Wolff came off the bench in the 92nd minute as Beveren had already scored five times, beating Lierse 5-1. There will be no Challenge League break for the events in Qatar, so Beveren will get back onto the field of play on Saturday when they host Molenbeek.
Mauricio Cuevas never left the bench as Club Brugge Reserves drew with Anderlecht Reserves 2-2 over the weekend. The American will hope to get some game time on Saturday when they travel to Beerschot.
