Game day three was a good one for Captain Fossey but not so much so for Reynolds and Yow.
Standard Liege 2- 1 Genk
Marlon Fossey led by example as he scored the goal that turned out to be the eventual game winner for Standard Liege against northern rivals, KRC Genk.
It was a game that saw the visitors run riot in the first half as they had 81% of the possession but could get just one shot on target compared to Standard’s two shots, with one finding the back of the net. And it was a big victory in front of the Sclessin faithful; it was their first win at home since January.
It was a strike from the spot that finally got the score board to light up. It was Frenchman Thomas Henry, no relations to Thierry, who put the ball on the spot and scored his first game of the young season.
The second half didn’t improve very much possession-wise for Standard but when it came to finding the back of the net, they were on form. Like the first goal, the second came against the run of play,
Tobias Mohr got hold of the ball in his own box and the German spotted the run of Henry running down the left side. The Frenchman then spots his American colleague racing down the other wing and sends him the perfect pass. Fossey controlled, got himself into the box and fired it into the back of the net to double the lead.
The Smurfs did not lose hope after going down another goal and in the 70th minute got themselves back into the game. Tolu Arokodare came off the bench three minutes earlier and when he latched onto a long pass from Zakaria El Ouahdi the Nigerian confidently put it past Matthieu Epolo in the Standard goal.
Try as they may however, the visitors just could not get the ball over the goal line again and had to head home with no points in the bag after a game that they dominated.
The win was les Rouches’ second of the season and find themselves sitting on seven points out of a possible nine. They also sit in third place, tied on points with three other teams. Up next will be a trip to Brussels to take on the Belgian champions, Union St Gilloise.
Westerlo 0 – 1 Mechelen
Both Griffin Yow and Bryan Reynolds were in the starting line-up but neither could make enough impact on the game to help the Gamecocks get anything from it, thus sending their opponents home with three points.
The visitors threatened after just 11 minutes and should have rippled the net, but Reynolds was on hand to clear the ball off his line. Fifteen minutes later the Yank was called in to clear the area again, this time with a crucial header that denied the Kakkers a scoring chance.
Yow was having a half decent game and seemed to panic the defense every time he approached the area around the box with the ball. In one instance, he picked out Reynolds but the effort was well defended. The Americans effortlessly linked up on a few occcasions but did not repeat the benefits of a goal.
It was an 83rd minute strike that buried Westerlo after than had played well enough to get something from the game. And it was Benito Raman who broke the home fans’ hearts when he received the ball on the edge of the box, coolly turned and whacked the ball into the back of the Kemphanen net.
The loss condemns the Yanks to just three points out of a possible nine. Up next will be a trip to the Venice of the North where they’ll take on Cercle Brugge. The Brugge boys have yet to score a goal this season as they sit on just one point.
Notes:
The Challenger Pro League got underway this weekend and Coach Jamath Shoffner‘s Lierse side hosted SK Beveren, who are located in the northern city of Antwerp. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a good start to the season for the 47-year-old as his side lost by two goals to nil in front of their home fans.
Up next, the Yellow-Blacks will travel to go up against recently demoted Kortrijk.
