The Battle of the Yanks ended with Bryan Reynolds’ team coming out on top, while Kahveh Zahiroleslam’s Canaries claim a point on the road in Pro League action.
Standard Liege 1 – 2 Westerlo
Marlon Fossey was in the starting line-up for les Rouches and Bryan Reynolds was also there for the Gamecocks; however Griffin Yow is still out due to injury in this game where Matija Frigan scored on both sides of the intermission to propel Westerlo to three points on Saturday night.
The Croatian was the man of the match, giving the Standard defense a hard time over the 90 minutes and although the home side dominated the game with 69% of the ball, their visitors made sure that their shots on target were converted.
Just a half dozen minutes into the game, Fossey picked out Aiden O’Neill, who shot from just outside the box. His shot was blocked and the Flemish boys went on the counter with Jordan Bos playing the ball forward for Frigan. The Aussie’s pass was on the money and the shot was just as good, making it a one – nil Westerlo lead.
Both of the Yanks had a good first half, putting in a few balls each but in every instance the ensuing shots were blocked.
Ten minutes after the restart Fossey was sent to the ground. The American winger got his head to a low flying ball and after he sent it forward, Bos arrived late and delivered his foot square into Fossey’s chest. He was booked as his victim slowly got back to his feet.
With their relentless wave after wave of attacks at the Westerlo goal, the hosts finally get their reward – a penalty kick. Reynolds was the culprit, fouling Ilay Camara in the box. Scoring goals has been Standard’s problem this season, having just found the back of the net on five occasions. Andi Zeqiri didn’t miss however to bring the game level.
The Sclessin celebrations were short-lived however because from the re-start Luka Vuskovic found fellow Croatian, Frigan, who out-maneuvers his defender and puts the ball into the back of the Standard net to re-take the lead.
The three points leaves the Flemish side in fifth place, while the Walloons sit in the ninth spot. Up next is a trip to Brussels for Fossey to take on Anderlecht, while Reynolds stays at home as new boys Beerschot comes to town.
Cercle Brugge 1 – 1 Sint Truiden
Kahveh Zahiroleslam was in the Canaries starting line-up when they traveled to the Venice of the North to take on Cercle at the Jan Breydel Stadium on Sunday night. He put in a 69 minute shift as STVV left it late to claim a point on their road trip.
Kevin Denkey struck first for the hosts when he slotted the ball into the bottom left hand corner from the middle of the box. This was the Togolese’s fifth goal of the season and it came in the 34th minute.
It took until the 89th minute before STVV was able to breach the Cercle defense and put the ball into the back of their net. Andres Ferrari latched onto Billal Brahimi’s through ball and from inside the area blasted it past Warleson, the Brazilian between the posts.
Up next for Zahiroleslam and company is a visit from third place Gent.
Notes
Devon De Corte started and played for 76 minutes when the Anderlecht Futures hosted high flying Zulte Waregem. Les Mauves reserves gave it a good fight but came away on the wrong end of a 3-2 result. Although in last place and winless after six games, they’ll try again when they head east over the weekend to take on Genk’s reserves.
