AEK Athens 1-2 Royal Antwerp ( att : 29,300 ) - 2023/24 UEFA Champions League Play-Off Round

August 30, 2023

These diaries covered the first leg meeting last week between these two sides, and with Antwerp taking a slender 1-0 lead into the return, it was all to play for.

https://fatbearssportingdiaries.blogspot.com/2023/08/royal-antwerp-1-0-aek-athens-att-13376.html 

The match was being played at AEK’s Agia Sophia Stadium and the bookies made AEK favourites to overturn the deficit in front of their own supporters. Bet365 offered AEK at 13/20, Antwerp were 17/4 outsiders, and the draw was 11/4.

AEK made three changes from their starting line-up last week. Austrian keeper Cican Stankovic ( 4 caps ) replaced Athanasiadis, Rota swapped with Sidibe, and Ponce started in place of the injured Garcia after replacing him in the first half in Antwerp.

Antwerp made two changes from the first leg. With Bataille suspended after his red card, USA left-back Sam Vines took his place and Kosovan Arbnor Muja replaced Ondrejka upfront

Spanish referee Jesus Gil Manzano was in charge of the match.

The game started in a lively fashion and with just over a minute played Antwerp keeper Butez was sent crashing to the floor by Ponce as he attempted to clear the ball downfield. The referee took no sanction against the AEK forward apart from awarding the free-kick.

Amrabat, the standout player for AEK in the first tie, carelessly gave the ball away in his own half enabling Muja to dribble into the AEK penalty area, but Moukoudi made a tremendous tackle and came away with possession.

In the third minute, Muja set off on another run down the left after receiving a pass from Janssen and this time his shot needed to pushed away by the diving AEK keeper.

Both sides were playing at pace and the next promising move occurred in the 14^th minute, but Amrabat’s teasing cross was matched by a great defensive header from Alderweireld. AEK continued to probe and two minutes later Haj Safi’s cross from the left was headed just wide by Ponce from close to the penalty spot. The Argentinian ought to have at least hit the target.

Balikwisha was looking dangerous for Antwerp, first sending a low cross from the left across the face of the goal and wide, and then playing in Janssen down the left wing, and with the cross into the middle being poorly punched away by keeper Stankovic no Antwerp player could take advantage.

The poor goal-keeping continued at the other end as a Pineda’s shot was blocked, took two deflections and flew high in the air. Butez made a very odd looking punch rather than palming the ball off for corner, and again the ball went high into the air, for Ponce to again head wide from a good position.

Janssen was the meat in a sandwich as Szymanski and Moukoudi both fouled the Antwerp striker but again the referee’s cards stayed in his pocket.

With 24 minutes played, Butez then made another error as his attempted pass out from the back went straight to Zuber who passed first time to Ponce on the edge of the area, but Butez redeemed himself with a fine save to push a piledriver over the bar.

After an AEK corner was cleared in the 35^th minute, the ball reached Gacinovic 25 yards out but his left-footed effort went over the bar without troubling the keeper. A minute later, Amrabat, who had been disappointingly anonymous to date for AEK, made a promising run from out on the right into the Antwerp area but his left-footed shot was poor and went several feet wide.

The first half ended with the score 0-0, in which both sides had shown good quality with the ball, but the score was a fair reflection of the even nature of the play. It was still all to play for in the second half.

The early phases of the second half were cagey, with not a lot happening apart from Pineda’s low cross being well defended by Alderweireld at the expense of a corner.

However, Antwerp should have taken the lead on the night in the 60^th minute. A flowing move featuring a dozen or more first time passes and great movement off the ball saw Balikwisha get to the by-line and his low cross found Muja 3 yards out. With an empty net in front of him, the Kosovan somehow put the ball wide of the far post. An incredible miss !

A lengthy injury delay soon followed and Alderweireld was unable to continue with what looked like a bad arm injury and he had to be replaced.

AEK left-back Haj Safi made a promising run from close to the half-way line but badly sliced his shot from distance but appealed for corner, probably hoping the referee would think the shot couldn’t have been that bad and so must have been deflected. The referee wasn’t fooled though.

There didn’t appear to be an danger as Antwerp prepared to take a throw-in just inside the AEK half, but Vines sent his throw long down the touch-line and Balikwisha raced onto it with most of the AEK defence standing and watching. A brilliant pass just before the ball went out of play gave substitute Kerk, who had been on the pitch for barely a minute, had an easy finish inside the 6 yard box to make it 2-0 on aggregate to the Great Old with 18 minutes left to play.

AEK responded by making a triple substitution but it was Antwerp who nearly scored the next goal as Janssen and Kerk combined, but Balikwisha couldn’t control the final pass when otherwise he would been one on one with the keeper.

AEK were looking short of ideas, with the biggest danger coming when Yusef’s attempted clearance was sliced over his own bar. AEK’s night seemed to be summed up with Pineda spooned high over the bar from the edge of the area with 2 minutes left on the clock and they seemed to be lamely exiting the competition.

As the game entered the last minute of normal time, Eliasson crossed from the right wing. The ball reached Araujo at the back post who was able to chest control and managed to shoot from 8 yards. The ball went past De Laet’s attempt to block and snuck just inside the post. 1-1 on the night, and with 8 minutes of added time to be played, AEK still had time to force extra-time. Against Dinamo Zagreb in the previous round they had come back to score two goals in added on time to progress. Could they do it again to force extra-time ?

Roared on by their passionate fans, the Greek side surged forward but they left gaps at the back, and in the 5th minute of added time, a first time pass out of defence from Vermeeren found Balikwisha all alone, and he advanced to steer a confident shot past Stankovic and send Antwerp into the draw for the CL group stages for the first team ever.

There was still time for Eliasson to miss badly with a header, but it wouldn’t have mattered anyway.

Highlights : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nwtU0uzbKM

AEK Athens : Stankovic – Rota ( Jonsson ), Vida, Moukoudi, Haj Safi – Amrabat ( Eliasson ), Pineda, Szymanski ( Pizarro ), Gacinovic ( Manatolos ) – Ponce, Zuber ( Araujo )

Royal Antwerp : Butez – De Laet, Alderweireld ( Van Den Bosch ), Coulibaly, Vines – Keita, Ekkelenkamp ( Kerk ), Vermeeren – Muja, Janssen ( Yusef ), Balikwisha ( Ondrejka )

 

Royal Antwerp 1-0 AEK Athens ( att : 13,376 ) - 2023/24 UEFA Champions League Play-Off Round

 August 22, 2023

The Champions League qualifiers have now reached the Play-Off round, where the winners enter the CL group stages and the losers drop down to the group stages of the Europa League.

Antwerp were Belgian champions after a dramatic end to the 2022/23 Jupiler Pro League. With two games to go Antwerp knew a home win over Union St Gilloise would give them the title, and they led 1-0 against 10 men with 10 minutes remaining after having missed a bagful of chances to clinch the points. However, a late own goal meant a 1-1 draw.

In their final game, they trailed 1-2 at Genk as the game moved into added time. The title now seemed to be going to Union as they held a 1-0 home lead over Club Brugge with one minute of normal time left, but an under-strength Club side stunned Union with three very late goals, which then looked to have then handed the title to Genk. But it wasn’t over yet, and in the 4^th minute of added time Toby Alderweireld hammered home an unlikely equaliser for the Great Old to snatch the championship from Genk as Antwerp won the league for the first time since 1957. The destiny of the title changed three times in less than 5 minutes !

In the close season, Ecuadorian centre-back William Pacho left to join Eintracht Frankfurt for €9M and midfielder Pieter Gerkens signed for Gent on a free transfer. In their place, Swedish winger Jacob Ondrejka ( 1 cap ) was bought from Elfsborg for €1.5M and Nigerian forward Chidera Ejuke ( 3 caps ) arrived on a one year deal from CSKA Moscow. Young French centre-back Soumaila Coulibaly is on a season’s loan from Borussia Dortmund.

Antwerp have made a mixed start to the new season, winning both home matches ( Cercle Brugge 1-0 and Kortrijk 6-0 ) but lost 0-1 at Anderlecht and drew 1-1 at OH Leuven. Dutch striker Vincent Janssen has scored 4 times.

AEK won the 2022/23 Greek title by finishing 5 points clear of Panathinaikos, with Olympiakos, winners of 15 of the last 18 championships, a further 5 points behind. Trinidad & Tobago striker Levi Garcia was their top scorer with 14 goals.

AEK translated into English is the Athletic Union of Constantinople, with the club being founded in 1924 by refugees from Turkey after the Greco-Turkish War. Their traditional colours are yellow shirts with black shorts, and their emblem is a double-headed eagle. Ex Brighton and Hove Albion manager Gus Poyet was AEK’s coach in 2015/16.

AEK have not started their domestic league campaign yet, but overcame Dinamo Zagreb in a remarkable tie to reach the Play-Off round. Their home first leg was postponed following riots between fans of both sides in the afternoon before the kick-off in which one AEK supporter died. As a result the return leg in Zagreb became the first leg, where a 90^th minute goal gave AEK a 2-1 victory.

However, it was a different story in the second leg as Dinamo took a 2-0 lead and looked to be going through as the game moved into added on time. AEK pulled a goal back in the 92^nd minute to level the aggregate score, and were then awarded a penalty for handball after a lengthy VAR review. It was one of those decision you think unfair when it goes against your side but think it is a penalty when it is in your favour !

Garcia’s spot-kick was saved by Livakovic but the rebound was smashed home by Croatian defender Domagoj Vida, ironically an ex-Dinamo player, for a winner in the 10^th minute of added time. The TV replay suggested that Vida had encroached into the area when the kick was taken but this didn’t appear to be reviewed so the goal stood !

The AEK side that started the second match against Dinamo Zagreb featured only one Greek, full-back Lazaros Rota ( 12 caps ), who has previously played for Fortuna Sittard and Slovak side Zemplin Michalovce. Tonight, there was also just one Greek player, this time keeper Georgios Athanasiadis, with Rota being rotated to the bench.

Notable names in their line-up tonight included veteran Moroccan playmaker Nordin Amrabat ( 64 caps ), who had a spell at Watford, Iranian left-back Ehsan Haj Safi ( 129 caps ), ex-Grasshoppers, Hoffenheim and Eintracht Frankfurt Swiss midfield Steven Zuber ( 51 caps )  whilst captain Damien Szymanski has made 14 appearances for Poland. Ex-Lille and Monaco French defender Djibril Sidibe had an unimpressive spell at Everton, whilst former Bristol City Swedish winger Niclas Eliasson was on the bench.

Antwerp were able to make extra tickets available the day before the match when it was announced that a number of places reserved for UEFA were not going to be taken, and these were on sale for between €60-90, but no tickets were being sold on match-day. The regular tickets had already been sold-out, with prices between €35-50.

The match was being shown on TNT Sports in the UK and Bet365.com made Antwerp 5/4 favourites, with AEK at 11/5 and the draw at 23/10.

The weather at the 21.00 local time kick-off was dry after a sunny day, with temperatures around the 22 degrees mark.

Both sides appeared to be extremely relaxed in the tunnel before kick-off, with AEK captain Szymanski happily chatting with a mascot and Antwerp manager Mark van Bommel having a long chat with AEK’s Levi Garcia, who had played in the Netherlands with AZ Alkmaar. It all seemed a bit too friendly with everyone smiling and no sign of pre-match nerves !

Antwerp immediately sent a long probing ball to test the centre of the AEK defence but a mystery foul was awarded against Ondrejka, who if anything was the one having his shirt pulled. After Balikwisha did well on the left and delivered the ball towards the penalty spot, Ekkelenkamp turned inside the AEK area but was unable to make a decent contact with his shot and the ball was easily gather by the AEK keeper.

AEK’s first chance arose in the 11^th minute. Amrabat was left in space on the right wing and his pin-point cross was met by Garcia, but his header from 10 yards was straight at keeper Butez, who made a routine save. It was a good chance wasted.

Antwerp’s Bataille then produced a “robust” challenge on Sidibe but was lucky to avoid seeing yellow.

Antwerp opened the scoring in the 16^th minute. The lively Keita, who had impressed with his ability to retain possession in the opening phases, showed good skill to feed Vermeeren, and the 18 year-old showed good vision to thread a pass to Janssen behind the square back-line in the right-hand channel for the ex-Tottenham striker to sweep the ball left-footed across goal into the far corner.

AEK responded strongly, and in the 20^th minute a lay-off teed up Szymanski, but his 20 yard effort went 20 yards wide. The visitors were looking dangerous every time the 36 year-old Amrabat was on the ball on the right hand side, and although looking like a night-club bouncer, he possessed a delicate touch and a box of tricks.

Amrabat then skinned Bataille on the right wing, and another great cross again reached Garcia, but this time the Trinidadian headed over from 10 yards.

The first yellow card of the game was finally shown in the 25^th minute when Szymanski chopped down Keita as the Antwerp midfielder burst past him when attempting to make a break from his own half.

AEK continued to look dangerous and Garcia produced a great spin from a pass from Szymanski to break away from Alderweireld but the veteran Belgian international did well to recover and produce a good diving block to divert the goal-bound shot off for a corner.

Amrabat then showed good feet to send Janssen in the wrong direction and a reverse pass found Szymanski in space on the right side of the Antwerp area, but his low cross was intercepted by the lunging Coulibaly for a corner from inside his 6 yard box.

Amrabat’s trickery continued as a superb ball down the right-hand touchline enabled Garcia to run past Coulibaly, but from a tight angle the shot ended up in the side netting. Garcia appeared to injure himself in the process and after some lengthy treatment, which enabled both sides to have a drinks break, he was unable to continue and was replaced by Ponce.

Another AEK attack saw Amrabat feed Zuber but the return pass was cut-out by the diving Coulibaly. Antwerp though were still capable of creating their own danger and a flowing move and a smart dummy by Ekkelenkamp enabled Balikwisha to make a strong run from his own half deep into AEK territory, and his pass behind the visitor’s backline released Janssen, but his low cross from the by-line went just behind Ondrejka near the penalty spot. The ball made its way to De Laet, and his 25- yard thunderbolt was headed away from goal by Moukoudi.

The last action of the first half belonged to AEK. Sidibe’s pass found Zuber down the right wing and his pull-back was dummied by Gacinovic to give Pineda a sight of goal, but the shot from the edge of the area hit Vermeeren to deflect for a corner.

Antwerp probably just deserved their half-time lead but with the influence of Amrabat, AEK were far from being out of the game.

AEK made a change at the interval, with Jonsson surprisingly coming on for Szymanski, who had looked to be one of AEK’s better players in the first half, and the visitors had the first chance of the second period as an intricate move released Haj Safi, but Butez made an excellent save from the close-range drive from a tight angle.

The pivotal moment of the match occurred in the 50^th minute. Keita spoilt an otherwise excellent performance with a sloppy pass towards Bataille, who dived in to prevent Gacinovic taking possession, but only succeeded in bringing down the Serbian. The referee immediately brandished the red card, which initially looked harsh, but the TV replay showed that there was a nasty contact on the ankle, and it was actually a good decision by French referee Letexier.

It was Antwerp that actually created the next chance in the match, but after Ekkelenkamp headed down for Janssen to take aim, the shot was high, wide and handsome. Antwerp though soon signalled their intent by bringing on two defenders, setting out their stall with the aim of holding onto their lead and looking to counter at pace.

Ponce was able to get ahead of Coulibaly to meet a cross from Haj Safi, but his header went comfortably over the bar.

Antwerp’s counter attacking approach was soon visible as Balikwisha was able to maintain possession and cut-inside from the left, but his shot for just outside the area was easily saved by Athanasiadis.

Vermeeren’s smart pass then gave De Laet the opportunity to race into the AEK area, but after attempting to cut-back inside he collapsed to the floor holding his ankle. The TV replay showed there was no contact and it was not a penalty, but De Laet remained on the ground, leaving his 9 team-mates to defend the ensuing AEK attack. Quite frankly, it looked pretty embarrassing and could have proven costly for his side.

AEK made a triple substitution in the 67^th minute, meaning they had used up all of their options. Interestingly, Amrabat, who had looked less threatening in the second period, and perhaps tiring had been kept on, with the coach hoping maybe for one more piece of brilliance to conjure up an equaliser. As a result of the changes, Amrabat moved to the left side of midfield.

AEK continued to dominate but the Antwerp defence stood firm and appeared to be unduly troubled. Neat passing regularly saw them take play back into the AEK half. Coulibaly again produced another fine tackle to deny Araujo, and Jonsson was crowded out by a combination of Coulibaly and Vermeeren.

Keeper Butez was called into action again in the 77^th minute, producing a fine diving save to keep out a 20-yard effort from Mantalos. Petulant behaviour from the Greek side then denied them a good chance in the 83^rd minute, when Araujo was found in space, but an unnecessary shirt pull by Eliasson on Vines to stop a potential challenge was spotted by the officials and the opportunity wasted.

Antwerp nearly added a second goal as Coulibaly burst through the off-side trap to be clear on goal, but the centre-back could only prod the ball past the keeper and the wrong side of the far post.

Amrabat produced a last flicker and his sweet chip into the danger zone was met by Ponce, but the header produced another good save from Butez. The Greek side’s frustrations continued when Alderweireld headed off for a corner, but the referee awarded a goal-kick.

AEK continued to press, but Butez confidently dealt with another cross into his area, and in the 4^th minute of added time, a good ball played in by Amrabat found Moukoudi, but the centre-back on the stretch couldn’t make a decent contact and pushed the ball wide, and probably took the ball off the toes of Araujo.

The final whistle went shortly after, and Antwerp deserved to hold onto the one goal margin as they were not particularly troubled after being reduced to 10 men. Still, it is all to play for in the second leg in Athens next week. 

Highlights : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pjaOsOfQ0Y

Royal Antwerp : Butez – De Laet, Alderweireld, Coulibaly, Bataille – Keita, Ekkelenkamp ( Vines ), Vermeeren – Ondrejka ( Van Den Bosch ), Janssen ( Muja ), Balikwisha

AEK Athens : Athanasiadis – Sidibe ( Eliasson ), Vida, Moukoudi, Haj Safi – Amrabat, Pineda, Zuber ( Araujo ), Szymanski ( Jonsson ), Gacinovic ( Manatolos ) – Garcia ( Ponce )

 

 

Club Brugge KV 2-0 Royal Antwerp ( att : 29,042 ) - 2022/23 Belgium First Division A

May 21, 2023

These diaries have featured Royal Antwerp three times this season, and they went into today’s fixture knowing that three wins in their final three games in the Championship Play-off round would see them win the Belgian title for the first time since 1956/57. Such a position would have seemed unlikely after the 0-3 hammering they received back in October at Standard Liege, and needing two goals in the last 5 minutes to snatch an improbable 3-3 draw at Westerlo at the end of December. However, since their 4-1 home victory over Standard in January, they had lost just once in 15 league games, and claimed the Belgian Cup with a 2-0 win over KV Mechelen.

The Championship play-off round in Belgium is unusual in that at the end of the regular 30 game season, the points total of the top four sides are halved, as they then play six additional matches to determine the Champions.

Genk & Union St Gilloise led the way on 75 points, with Antwerp trailing on 72 points, and Club Brugge well adrift on 59 points. Consequently, the points totals at the start of the play-offs were 38 to Genk and Union, 36 for Antwerp and 30 for Club Brugge. As Antwerp won their first three matches, they now sat in pole position with 45 points, with Union on 44 and Genk now seemingly out of the picture on 41.

With little to play for, Club Brugge had lost all three of their play-off games, safe in the knowledge that they were assured of a place in the Europa Conference qualifying round. The two sides met last week-end at the Bosuil, where Antwerp came back from falling 0-2 behind after 20 minutes to win 3-2, thanks to a 97^th minute goal from 18-year-old starlet Arthur Vermeeren. The two regular season encounters had both been drawn, 2-2 in Bruges and 0-0 in Antwerp.

Club Brugge play at the 29,069 capacity Jan Breydal Stadium, which they share with Cercle Brugge, and was previously known as the Olympiastadion. It is now named after a patriotic hero of the Franco-Flemish war and the 1302 uprising.

I have been to the ground on one occasion, watching the Euro 2000 group match between France and Czech Republic, which ended in a 2-1 victory for France on their way to winning the tournament. I was living in the Netherlands at the time so was able make the two hour or so drive to the game.  My three memories of the game were that it was strange the game did not sell-out despite being held very close to the border with France, just how quick Thierry Henry was, and that the result was unjust on the Czech side, who had more than matched the World Champions after falling behind to an early goal from Henry and surviving a blistering start from the French. The cross-bar denied Jan Koller a late equaliser after Youri Djorkaeff had restored the lead for the French, following a penalty from Karel Podborsky for the Czechs.

The French side that day included Zidane, Anelka, Henry, Barthez, Blanc, Desailly, Thuram, Lizaruzu, Deschamps, Candela & Petit with Djorkaeff, Dugarry and Wiltord coming off the bench.  The Czech line-up featured Podborsky, Nedved, Rosicky, Smicer, Repka, Rada, Srnicek and Koller.

 

Club Brugge have won the Belgian title on 18 occasions, second only to Anderlecht, and have also won the Belgian Cup 11 titles. They are the defending Champions. They have reached two European finals, losing the 1978 European Cup Final 0-1 to Liverpool at Wembley, and also losing to Liverpool 3-4 on aggregate in the 1976 UEFA Cup final.

Their home colours are blue and black stripes, with black shorts, and they are commonly known as just Club or Blauw-Zwart. Their average home attendance in the regular season was 22,914, the highest in the league.

Coach Carl Hoefkens, ex-Stoke and West Bromwich Albion and 22 caps for Belgium, was sacked late in December despite having led to the side to the knock-out rounds of the Champions League, finishing ahead of Bayer Leverkusen  ( 1-0 & 0-0 ) and Atletico Madrid ( 2-0 & 0-0 ) in their group. They had also won 4-0 in Porto but suffered a similar score reverse at home to the group winners.

Eyebrows were raised when ex-England international Scott Parker ( 18 caps ) was announced as the replacement coach, having been sacked earlier in the season by Bournemouth, and having previously led Fulham to relegation from the Premiership. To the surprise of few, Parker’s tenure was disappointing, and he was sacked early in March after 1-5 defeat in Lisbon at the hands of Benfica, which eliminated Club from the Champions League. Reserve team coach was Rik De Mil was promoted to take over as head coach.

Ex-Barcelona striker Ferran Jutgla was Club’s top scorer in the league this season with 10 goals, followed by ex-Ajax Dutch winger Noa Lang ( 6 caps ) on 8.

The most famous name in the Club squad is ex-Liverpool and Sunderland keeper Simon Mignolet ( 35 caps ) whilst ex-Fulham midfielder Denis Odoi won 1 cap for Belgium but now represents Ghana ( 6 caps ). Midfielder Hans Vanaken has 23 caps and ex-Midtjylland Nigerian midfield Raphael Onyediak has 1 cap. Full-back Clinton Mata has 8 caps for Angola, Ivorian centre-back Abakar Sylla has won 3 caps and ex Dynamo Kiev, Gent and Benfica Ukrainian midfielder/forward Roman Yaremchuk has made 43 appearances for his country. Centre-back Jack Hendry has won 21 caps for Scotland and has Celtic, Dundee, Melbourne City, MK Dons and Oostende amongst others on his CV.

Unexpectedly, Bet365 made Club slight favourites at 31/20, with Antwerp at 17/10, and the draw at 23/10. The match was streamed live for free on the Bet365 website, and for €3.49 on Eleven Sports. The weather at the 13.30 local kick-off time was cloudy with sunny spells, and a temperature of 17 degrees.

Both teams made one change from last week, with Yaremchuk replacing the injured Jutgla for Club, whilst Stengs came in for Keita for Antwerp, who continue to be strengthened by the absence of ex-Manchester United full-back Richie de Laet.

The home side made a lively start and with barely a minute played Ekkelenkamp had to chop down Onyedika after the Nigerian had turned away from him. They won the first corner of the game in the 8^th minute after a sweeping cross field pass found Mata who in turn put Rits in space on the right, but the cross was blocked.

The first chance of the game came in the 12^th minute. Pacho made a hash of trying to intercept Vanaken’s threaded ball to Rits, and the Club midfielder turned and shot first time, but Butez made the block with his legs. A mazy run from the left by Lang then teed up Sylla but the Ivorian could only spoon his shot from the edge of the area over the bar.

Antwerp’s Vermeeren was shown the first yellow card of the game in the 21^st minute, bringing down Yaremchuk after losing control of the ball midway in his own half and the Ukrainian had nipped in.

Antwerp coach Mark van Bommel, dressed in all black and increasingly looking like Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters, was cutting an increasingly frustrated figure on the touchline as his side struggled to make any impression in the match, and the home crowd roared with delight as their side’s high press forced another error from the Antwerp back four.

Antwerp did threaten briefly but Muja’s cross from the right was ahead of Janssen and easily gathered by Mignolet, then with 27 minutes played, Balikwisha by the left-wing corner flag, found Stengs whose inside pass put Janssen with a one on one with Mignolet but the striker’s left-footed effort was steered over the bar.

Antwerp were briefly enjoying a good spell but Avila wasted a promising position by optimistically shooting from 35 yards and the ball ended up high in the stands. The led to the game’s comedy moment as the yellow card had fallen out of the referee’s pocket and Avila picked up and handed it back to the official with smiles all round. I can think of some Italian referees who might not have seen the funny side !

Club were soon on the front foot though and a long ball out of defence could have presented an opportunity to Yaremchuk, but his control was lacking and Butez was able to come off his line and dive at the Ukrainian’s feet to claim the ball. Vanaken was then found in space on the left, but his cross in the direction of the penalty spot was met by Yaremchuk but the header looped gently for Butez to save.

Antwerp responded with a dangerous left-wing cross by Muja being headed away by Sylla, then Alderweirld’s long punt out of defence was headed on the run well over the bar by Ekkelenkamp.

Odoi entered the referee’s note book with a studs-up challenge on Ekkelenkamp and perhaps was fortunate to only see yellow. The half ended with Stengs gratefully putting a low cross from Rits over his own bar for a corner. At half-time Club had been the better side but had created very few chances, and it was all to play for in the second half.

Brugge made a change at the interval bringing on Danish midfielder Casper Neilsen, who joined Club at the start of the season from Union St Gilloise, and switching Odoi to right-back. The Dane made an almost instant impact by opening the scoring five minutes into the second period with a fabulous goal. Lang played a great pass down the left touch-line for Meijer to run onto, and his pull-back reached Neilsen who hammered into the roof of the net from 15 yards.

Two minutes later Yaremchuk was clear but again poor control let him down, and the ball rolled off for a goal-kick. Antwerp made a triple substitution in an attempt to change the pattern of the play and from a corner won when Stengs had an effort deflected for a corner, Kerk volleyed wide from 25 yards.

However, it was the home side who scored the game’s crucial second goal in the 62^nd minute. Antwerp were caught in possession and lovely cross-field pass by Vermant, who had only just entered the fray, was swept home by Neilsen in acres of space close to the angle of the six-yard box before De Laet could slide in and block.

Antwerp could have got back into the encounter in the 73^rd minute but Kerk wasted a golden chance, putting the ball wide from 6 yards after the diving Mignolet could only push away Stengs’ low cross.

Substitute De Laet then had to go off injured, perhaps not being fully fit in the first place. Antwerp strived to try and make something happen, but Stengs’ chip to Muja only led to a goal-kick after good defending by Mechele, and Janssen shot well wide from 25 yards. In truth they looked devoid of ideas and were a well-beaten side.

There was a little bit of controversy in added on time. In an act of show-boating, Lang stood on the ball near the Antwerp corner flag. When play moved on, Alderweirld clearly unhappy at the lack of respect shown to fellow players, gave Lang a firm push off-the-ball leading to the predictable inevitable bout of hand-bags. The referee showed the yellow card to both players. However, Lang still had the red mist in his eyes and then committed a terrible foul on Stengs and was extremely fortunate not to be shown a second card. The Club bench were frantically trying to get Musa to come on to replace Lang before he could get into any more trouble, but the referee avoided the need for this by blowing the full-time whistle.

Overall, Club Brugge were deserved winners against an uninspiring Antwerp side who failed to register one shot on target. With little to play for except pride, Club put the proverbial cat amongst the pigeons in the title race. However, regardless of other results, Antwerp will still win the Championship if they were to beat Union ( home ) and Genk ( away ) in their final two matches over the next two Sundays.

Highlights : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aS_JgnxO-IM

Club Brugge KV : Mignolet – Mata ( Neilsen ), Sylla, Mechele, Meijer – Rits ( Hendry ), Onyedika, Vanaken, Odoi, Lang – Yaremchuk ( Vermant )

Royal Antwerp : Butez – Bataille, Alderweirld, Pacho ( Van Den Bosch ), Avila ( De Laet, Yusef ) – Muja, Vermeeren, Ekkelenkamp ( Keita ), Stengs, Balikwisha ( Kerk ) - Janssen