Belgian Jupiler Pro League Round-Up: Round 17

Results:

KV Mechelen 2 – 5 KAA Gent

Standard Liège 2 – 2 Germinal Beerschot

KRC Genk 0 – 0 Westerlo

Charleroi 0 – 0 Sint-Truiden

Roeselare 1 – 2 Mouscron

Kortrijk 1 – 0 Zulte Waregem

Lokeren 0 – 1 Club Brugge

Cercle Brugge 1 - 3 Anderlecht

KV Mechelen 2 – 5 KAA Gent

On the same weekend that former Mechelen striker Bjorn Vleminckx scored a brace against Dutch leaders FC Twente, his former teammates crashed at home to a rampant Gent side who now move into third place in the table and are proving to be something of an irresistible force of late. The home side had been goal-shy in recent matches but no one would have guessed that as they took an early lead thanks to leading scorer Aloys Nong. A long ball from Ivens was met by Didier Destorme who through sheer force of will managed to drag the ball back and Nong kept his head to fire into the bottom corner past Jorgacevic.  Destorme then continued his good performance by having one shot saved and then striking the post and he was to regret not being more clinical. Elimane Coulibaly is by no means a regular in the Gent side, however he does provide an aerial threat and he nodded a far post cross from Mbaye Leye past Mechelen keeper Olivier Renard to even things up.  There are few worse crimes in football than not learning from mistakes and Gent took the lead two minutes later. Costa Rican rightback Rosales checked back on his left foot and crossed the ball, again with the destination the far post, and this time it was Bosnian attacker Adnan Custovic who did the honours.  The half ended with KVM defender Jeroen Mellemans being stretchered off after a clash of knees with Coulibaly and it is to be hoped that his injury is not too serious.

In the second period, Gent moved further away and emphasised their title credentials.  They may boast an array of attacking talent – Stijn de Smet and Zlatan Ljubijankic weren’t even available for this game but Coulibaly certainly decided to make the most of the opportunity afforded to him by manager Michel Preud’Homme.  A right-wing cross sparked a game of head tennis in the Mechelen box and after some pretty unconvincing defending to say the least, Custovic nodded it to Coulibaly who smashed home to give the visitors a three goal cushion.  The big striker from Senegal wasn’t finished yet. He latched onto a Lepoint through ball and his pass to the right flank was met by Rosales who confidently stroked the ball home into the opposite corner for his third goal of the season. Destorme did get the goal he deserved for his performance from a Xavier Chen cross from the right but Gent, as if to just remind their opponents of their clear superiority, rubbed salt into the wounds with a fifth from substitute Tom Smolders. Bernd Thijs, who shone in the second half, found young Belgian winger El-Ghanassy on the left wing and he somehow wriggled between two defenders and squared it to Smolders who made no mistake. It was a superb piece of skill from the young winger, who recently expressed his desire to play for Belgium ahead of Morocco and it must be noted that he has a wonderful arrogance about him allied to quick feet and a sharp burst of pace.  Gent must now be taken very seriously whilst Mechelen did at least manage to score two goals and should not become too disheartened, as they were simply blown apart by an excellent team.

Standard Liège 2 – 2 Germinal Beerschot

This was the most keenly anticipated game of the weekend, pitting the champions against the league’s surprise package and Germinal Beerschot definitely looked like a team in serious form as they were out of the blocks almost as quickly as Usain Bolt. From their first attack, de Ratten forced Sinan Bolat to make a smart save from in-form striker Tosin Dosunmu.  Tosin had another chance soon after but headed wide at the near post from a Martijn Monteyne cross. It would become a feature of the game as GBA showed no fear against the title holders.  The former Belgian topscorer spurned two further chances and it looked to be one of those nights for the GBA hitman. The visitors got the goal their play deserved thanks to veteran Bart Goor who scored his fifth of the season with a magnificent strike on his trademark left foot, curling perfectly into the corner past a diving Bolat.

If Les Rouches received the hairdryer treatment at half-time it worked soon after the break as Jovanovic scored his 10^th goal of the season and possibly his last ever league goal for Standard with a left-footed free kick with which Pacovski really should have done better.  GBA tried to hit back but Tosin missed yet again when set up by Goor.  It was to be sixth time lucky for Dosunmu as he smashed the rebound into the net after Justice Wamfor had been denied by a scrambling Bolat. However Standard are not champions for nothing and, refusing to be beaten, they hit back thanks to two of their stars. Axel Witsel showed patience, composure and then sheer quality down the right. His pinpoint-accurate cross was met by the head of Igor De Camargo who rescued a point for the hosts.

Though Germinal Beerschot have now been overtaken in third place by Gent, they will no doubt be very content with their point in a game which at the start of the season would have been dismissed as a home banker. Standard meanwhile have it all to play for on Wednesday night when they entertain AZ at Sclessin, possibly for a place in the last 16 of the Champions League.

KRC Genk 0 – 0 Westerlo

Interim coach Pierre Denier’s sole game in charge brought no respite for the Limburgers and the caretaker boss will be happy to return to the relative seclusion of being the right-hand man to new manager Francky Vercauteren.  Genk welcomed back Joao Carlos and restored Elyaniv Barda and youngster Kevin de Bruyne to the starting line up. Westerlo started brightly and young midfielder Glenn van Asten almost silenced the home crowd with a left foot strike from distance that went just wide. De Kempenaren continued to press and it took a Tiago Silva clearance to prevent Genk from falling behind. The non-performance of the team had prompted a mini-boycott from the hardcore section of the home support, who felt that the resignation of coach Hein Vanhaezebrouck didn’t go far enough but as they entered they witnessed another long range effort from the visitors.  Torben Joneleit seemed to have his eye on the stands as he almost gifted Westerlo with a goal but Verhulst managed to deal with the situation just in time.

The lack of confidence radiating from Genk showed when they were presented with their first real chance two minutes into the second half. Thomas Buffel stuttered and hesitated and spurned the opportunity as a result. Moments later topscorer Dieter Dekelver should have scored from point-blank range with a header but somehow directed it wide. A ray of hope then appeared from the darkness for Genk.  Czech winger Daniel Pudil was hauled down in the penalty box by Günther Vanaudenaerde who could have no real complaints with the decision to award a red card, however replays showed that the foul took place outside the penalty area and thus the decision to give a spot-kick was hotly contested but to no avail. Justice was done however when Barda’s penalty was superbly saved by Westerlo keeper Yves de Winter who guessed the right way and clung on to the ball.  The Israeli thought he had made amends when he found space in the box and rifled home but the goal was ridiculously ruled out for offside. Anele was stood in an offside position but was not interfering with play. De Petter and Iakovenko had chances late on to win it for Westerlo but the game remained goalless.  Genk remain in lowly 12^th spot, two below Westerlo.

Charleroi 0 – 0 Sint-Truiden

This game wasn’t exactly the most eagerly anticipated clash of the weekend and it certainly didn’t disappoint in disappointing! It was Charleroi who had the first real chance. Topscorer Cyril Thereau was sent clear by Mohamed Habibou but young keeper Steve Mignolet was alert to the danger and quickly put the fire out. He was called into action from the resulting corner and produced an excellent reaction save from a Maxime Brillault header to show why FC Twente are so keen on signing him. Sint-Truiden failed to show the chutzpah they displayed against Standard and Charleroi continued to come onto the front foot. Towards the end of the first half, Mignolet produced a stunning save from an Adlène Guédioura thunderbolt which ensured the sides were level at half-time. However, the young Sint-Truiden keeper could only watch as Imaad Al-Hosni’s header beat him all ends up only to flash agonisingly wide for Les Zèbres. Al-Hosny then had a golden chance from six yards out but Mignolet was there yet again to smother the danger. Charleroi will be disappointed not to have taken all three points and were up against a one-man show in the shape of the visiting keeper but at least Tommy Craig has his first point. Sint-Truiden have now picked up two draws in two games and will hope to avoid another long losing streak.

Roeselare 1 – 2 Mouscron

If this is to be the last we see of Royal Excelsior Mouscron, then the players should be very proud of themselves. Those who bothered to play that is. In an episode that highlighted all that is wrong with modern football, a number of first choice players refused to play as they didn’t want to risk an injury and jeopardise any future transfer in the now likely event of the club folding. Mouscron have voluntarily entered liquidation and the last rites are being issued.

Les Frontaliers and their B-team started brightly. Robert Maah’s mazy run found highly sought after teenager Maxime Lestienne but his shot was high, wide and not so handsome. Maah’s running continued to cause problems and Franck de Bleeckere issued a red card to Sergio Hellings for an ill-timed lunge despite the fact there was a covering defender.  However, Roeselare refused to let their heads drop and Dequevy’s cross was handled by Aliou Dia resulting in a penalty. El Gaaouiri stepped up but his tame spot kick was saved by Jan Slovenciak. Buoyed by the save, Mouscron took the lead shortly after thanks to a Carlos Moreno header.  Mouscron doubled their lead after the resumption, again thanks to Moreno, who turned inside the box and smashed home left-footed from 8 yards out. The numerical advantage of Mouscron was cancelled out when Dia was sent off for a second yellow, which opened the way for Roeselare to come back into the game. Bjarni Vidarsson unleashed an unstoppable strike into the top corner from 25 yards out, however it was to prove insufficient as Mouscron bowed out on a high.

Kortrijk 1 – 0 Zulte Waregem

The home side bounced back from their narrow defeat to Anderlecht and indeed Georges Leekens’s side continued from where they left off before their blip with a surprising win at home to subtoppers Zulte Waregem.  The visitors had good possession at the beginning but were reduced to long-range punts. The first real chance of the game fell to Christian Benteke whose powerful header was centimetres wide and this didn’t do the superb Laurent Ciman cross justice.  This woke Kortrijk up and Kums formed a splendid save from ZV keeper Sammy Bossut.  In the second half, Teddy Chevalier drifted in from the right hand side on his left peg à la Leo Messi and forced a good save from Kortrijk stopper Glenn Verbauwhede, who was outstanding in his side’s previous fixture in the capital.

The decision of Leekens to bring on a second striker in the shape of former Standard player Leon Benko proved inspired. He sealed all three points for KVK with thirteen minutes left on the clock. Mohamed Messoudi broke down the right hand side and into the box. The former Willem II midfielder kept his cool and found Leon Benko who made no mistake from close range and sent the home crowd into raptures with a famous derby goal that will live long in the memory. Kortrijk have done the double over their local rivals who stay in fifth ahead of Standard. Kortrijk are up to seventh, a mere two points behind.

Lokeren 0 – 1 Club Brugge

He may have gained notoriety at AZ for scoring at the wrong end but Ryan Donk’s second half goal secured an important win for his new side Club Brugge and piled more misery on their former coach Jacky Mathijssen. Blauw-Zwart have not been playing especially well lately but if they can keep grinding out results without hitting the high notes, it could bode well come the spring. They were handed a Sinterklaas present when just after the half-hour mark Lokeren were reduced to 10 men. Senegalese defender Ibrahima Gueye was given his marching orders for what the referee deemed to be a dangerous tackle on Nabil Dirar but the replays indicated that Gueye had slipped. However, the Senegalese didn’t take it too badly, joking afterwards on French-language television that Dirar doesn’t have his phone number.  Despite the man advantage, Lokeren weren’t troubled too much, but like all good sides Club only needed one good chance to score.  Karel Geraerts wasn’t picked up by the home defence and was allowed a free header. Though he could only direct it straight at goalkeeper Jugoslav Lazic, Ryan Donk forced the ball home in the ensuing scramble. It was Club’s first shot on target and it proved enough to keep up the pressure on Anderlecht.  The side from West Vlaanderen stay in second, five points behind Anderlecht. Lokeren meanwhile stay second bottom and must be wondering where a win will come from.

Cercle Brugge 1 - 3 Anderlecht

Mbark Boussoufa may be the best player in the Jupiler Pro League according to most shrewd judges of the game but he brought unnecessary shame on himself in the encounter at the Jan Breydelstadion.  Three minutes after Les Mauves had taken the lead, Boussoufa threw himself to the ground and incredibly won a penalty decision. And we thought we had seen enough acting from Charlize Theron during the World Cup draw! He stepped up to a chorus of boos and saw his spot kick saved but he tucked in the rebound to make the game safe for RSCA before the break. The opening goal had been scored by Jonathan Legear who had earned the right to stay in the side, with coach Ariël Jacobs opting to bench his young prodigy Romelu Lukaku. He had been on the periphery of the game for the first forty minutes but popped up like a little jack-in-the-box to convert an Olivier Deschacht cross and give the visitors a deserved lead.

Although Anderlecht continued to impose their superiority on Cercle in the second half, Cercle began to come into the game and found a way back in thanks to former Sporting player Oleg Iachtchouk. The Ukrainian found the net with a free kick that had had to be retaken as Biglia had been guilty of encroachment.  The incident prompted an immediate change from Jacobs as the Argentine midfielder was hauled off and replaced by the youngster Cheikhou Kouyaté. Despite the unsavoury taste in the air after the Boussoufa dive, the match ended on a bright note. No one will begrudge Nicolas Frutos his first goal after a lengthy spell on the sidelines with injury, during which there was speculation he may have to retire and he thanked his “wonder doctor” Mendoza in his celebration. Anderlecht thus keep Club Brugge at arm’s length whilst Cercle continue to languish in 13^th.