It wasn’t a good weekend for the Pro League Yanks as both teams ended the weekend adding to their lost columns.
Standard Liege 1 – 2 Club Brugge
Club Brugge travelled to the Sclessin on Saturday afternoon to take on their bogey team but this time managed to turn things around on their 13th try at picking up a victory along the Meuse River. After beating les Rouches by a 3-0 score line back in 2017, Club has lost on seven occasions, and five times shared the points.
Marlon Fossey started for the team that he captains but only stayed on the field for about an hour because in a moment of stupidity. The twice capped US Nat decided to barge into Christos Tzolis and was shown a straight red card.
The visitors started the game determinately, pushing forward from the first minute but eight minutes after the game started, it was Standard who were celebrating after Rafiki Saïd made a goal out of nothing, blasting his shot through the hands of keeper, Nordin Jackers.
The Brugge boys took this as a sign that they were going to have another rough outing deep in Wallonia and so struck back almost immediately, two minutes later exactly when Carlos Forbs picked out Tzolis, who was all alone in the box. The Greek international calmly nodded the ball into the back of Matthieu Epolo’s net to even things out.
In the 20th minute Standard was on the attack again when Jackers booted the ball down the field and found Fossey, who delivered a sweet cross into the box for Daan Dierckx, but the former Parma defender headed it just wide of the post.
Five minutes before the intermission, Fossey was brought down hard by Tzolis after a late tackle and was lucky to not be booked for a bookable offense. Then into the second half, the 63rd minute, the American was very late for a heading duel with the Greek forward and came in way too hard and ended up on top of his opponent. The referee had no choice but to see him for an early shower.
The hosts held on for a long time, fighting off the attacks with a man down but in the end, two minutes into stoppage time, Brandon Mechele sent a pass to second half sub Romeo Vermant who coolly slotted the ball into the net.
The loss leaves Standard in 11th place after nine games. Up next will be a trip to Brussels to take on Anderlecht, but Fossey will be sitting that one out.
Union St Gilloise 2 – 0 Westerlo
Westerlo travelled to Brussels over the weekend to take on the Belgian champions and went home with nothing after two second half goals by Promise David and Marc Giger. Bryan Reynolds played the entire game while Griffin Yow came off the bench in the 72nd minute for Josimar Alcocer.
The first chance of the game actually fell to the visitors when Reynolds charged into the box from the wing and latched on to Allahyar Sayyadmanesh’s back heel pass. The shot was a very good one and it took a fine save by Kjell Scherpen to keep the ball out.
Overall, the first half was lacklustre with USG not playing like champions. It would require them moving it up a gear after the intermission and that is exactly what they did. The first goal took a while to come but in the 63rd minute, David kept his promise and reaped the benefits of Ross Sykes hard work, scoring his third goal in three games. Fifteen minutes later Geiger scored to put the game to bed and give the Brussels’ team another three points, and a six-point lead at the top of the Pro League standings.
With three winless games in a row, De Kemphanen sit one place out of the relegation zone. Next up will be a visit from OH Leuven, who are in the relegation zone.
Notes
In Challenger Pro League action, Devon De Corte made it onto the field in the 73rd minute as the Anderlecht Futures played the Club Brugge Reserves to a 2-2 stalemate. Next up they’ll travel to the Borinage to take on Francs Borains.
Jamath Shoffner‘s Lierse side played Olympic Charleroi to a goal-less draw at the Herman Vanderpoorten Stadion. The American coach’s side failed to score in their last two games but fortunately, so did their opponents. They’ll look to find the back of the next time out against Patro Eisden.
