It was the third week of the Belgian play-offs in the Pro League while the Challenger League is only a few games from the end of their regular season as a couple of Yank teams fight for promotion.
Westerlo 2 – 2 Charleroi
Griffin Yow was on the mark again as he scored for the third time in his last three games with this one deep in stoppage time. Bryan Reynolds went the full 90, although he came off in the 93rd minute.
It always looked like a game that the hosts should win as they out-shot the Zebras 23 to seven but the draw did break their five-game losing streak to the Walloonians. And it was Westerlo who looked the hungriest from the get-go with Matija Frigan hitting the back of the net after just seven minutes. In the 20th however, the visitors were back on equal terms after Nikola Stulic headed the ball into back of the net on a play that started from a free kick.
The second half saw lots of Gamecock pressure but with the clock running out it looked to be a 1-1 draw. Enter Zan Rogelj, the Slovenian defender who gave Charleroi the go-ahead goal on the 90-minute mark. With the visiting fans already celebrating, they didn’t think much of Yow when he latched onto the ball, having blown several opportunities already to score. The assist actually came from the Westerlo keeper, Andreas Jungdal, who launched the ball the length of the field, found the American and watched him put it past Martin Lelavallee in the visitor’s goal.
The point leaves Westerlo in fifth of the six team group but with seven games still to go and only three points out of the top spot, it’s too early to call.
Up next will be a trip to Liege to take on Marlon Fossey and Standard.
Dender 1 – 1 Standard Liege
Speaking of Fossey, he played the entire game again but les Rouches couldn’t get the job done against the league’s newcomers. The teams were evenly matched through the 90 minutes so a draw would seem to be a fair outcome.
Twenty-five minutes into the game the visitors’ section of the stadium left their feet in excitment as Andreas Hountondji was played through the middle on a fast break by Leandre Kuavita. The left footed shot from just inside the box bent the net for the Benin national’s third goal of the season.
Minutes before the intermission however it was Dender’s turn. From a free kick, les Rouches’ defense was unable to clear their area and when the ball fell kindly for Mohamed Berte, the Belgian front man buried it for his seventh goal. And this is how it ended with nothing much to speak about in second half action.
Standard will host the two Americans of Westerlo on Saturday night to make it a Yank-vs-Yank clash.
Notes
Kahveh Zahiroleslam never got off the bench when Sint Truiden hosted Cercle Brugge at the Stayen and soundly beat them by a 3-1 scoreline. The Canaries’ victory puts them into first place in the relegation group though just a point ahead of Cercle. With three more games to go, STVV should avoid direct relegation but could find themselves in another relegation play-off if they finish in second place. Up next will be Cercle again but this time in Brugge.
Devon De Corte was in the Anderlecht Futures Starting XI when the Brussels team headed south into Wallonia to take on Francs Borains on Sunday afternoon. The Amercian put in a decent shift with his side taking the lead after three minutes. Going down to 10 men however, RFB fought back and came away with the 3-2 victory. Next up, the youngsters will host SK Beveren.
Justin Che was in the starting line-up for Patro Eisden when they travelled to take on Jamath Shoffner‘s Lierse on Friday night. The tightly contested game ended 1-0 to the hosts and are now in eighth place, seven points from a promotion play-off spot with three games to go. Patro, meanwhile, fall into fifth place but are still in line for the next play-off round although have blown the chance for automatic promotion. Patro will host Eupen in their next game.
Kayden Pierre played 64 minutes in Genk II’s 3-1 loss at the hands of Royal Liege at the Stade de Rocourt. The baby Smurfs are in 15th place with relegation looking like it may happen although with three games to go, they could survive with divine intervention, meaning they win the remaining games and Anderlecht Futures lose all of theirs. Oh, they’ll have to make up a 21-goal difference deficit as well. Next up, they’ll host Coach Shoffner’s Lierse.
