Griffin Yow scored for the third time in the play-offs while Marlon Fossey and Standard Liege also drop points in the Pro League.
Westerlo 2 – 2 Mechelen
Bryan Reynolds returned to Westerlo’s line-up and went the distance for the Gamecocks as they welcomed KV Mechelen to Het Kuipje on Saturday evening. Griffin Yow came off the bench at the hour mark and it was his very late goal that rescued a point for the hosts.
After a first half that ended with few chances and no goals, the second half got underway and 13 minutes later, Lion Lauberbach was celebrating his seventh goal of the season after the German. After Nikola Storm played him through and the big striker left the Westerlo keeper stranded, he was able to blast it into a now empty net.
The score should have been level on the hour mark but when Matija Frigan found himself in front of goal with just De Wolf to beat from close range, the Belgian keeper however made a highlight reel worthy save. But things were square in the 73rd minutes thanks to Islam Slimani’s strike.
Less than five minutes later the lead was restored by Jose Marsa and then with time running out, the Mechelen fans thought they would be returning home with three points in the bag and the knowledge that they are still in for a place in Europe next season. That was until deep into stoppage time.
Frigan was brought down in the box in the 96th minute and the Croatian confidently put the balll on the spot and struck it hard but for the second time on the night De Wolf made a fine save, parrying the shot away. Enter Yow, who beat everyone to the ball in the box, and blasted it right down the center of the goal to rescue a point in the 97th minute.
The point did very little for Westerlo in their pursuit for a European Conference League place since first place Charleroi came away 4-1 winners against Dender and now hold a four-point lead over Westerlo with just four games to go. Next up, last place Dender comes to town.
Notes
Marlon Fossey went the distance in Standard Liege’s 1-1 away draw against OH Leuven in the Conference Play-off group. The point leaves them six points behind Charleroi. Next up les Rouches hosts the leaders and will look to keep their slim chances alive.
Kahveh Zahiroleslam was soundly beaten by Relegation group leaders, Cercle Brugge by a 3-1 scoreline where the American didn’t even break a sweat, coming on the field in the 94th minute. This leaves the Canaries in second place with just two games left and two points out of first place. A second-place finish would mean that STVV will have to go into one more play-off in order to maintain their Pro League status. Next up is last place Beerschot.
