On matchday 16 of the Jupiler Pro League, the Jan Breydelstadion hosted the always fraught duel between Club Brugge and Antwerp FC. In the first half Club was dominant, but failed to score. Unfortunately, that didn't happen in the second half either and at the end of the match the Brugge side got the lid on the nose after a Benítez goal.
Blauw-Zwart faced Sporting CP in the UEFA Champions League last Wednesday and coach Nicky Hayen decided to make some changes to his starting line-up. In goal this was a forced change, as Jackers suffered a rib injury and so we got the return of Mignolet under the crossbar. At right back, Spileers got the trust this time and so Siquet had to make peace with a place on the bench. The same was true for Stanković this time, as Vermant formed the midfield together with Vanaken and Onyedika. Thus, Tresoldi was also allowed to start in the starting lineup with Forbs and Tzolis around him.
It was Club that claimed the ball in the opening stages, but that did not immediately result in goal danger. After five minutes, on the other hand, it was Antwerp that provided the first small threat, but Somers' header into the sixteen posed no problem for Mignolet. The home side's reaction followed almost immediately when Vanaken stabbed the ball deep for Forbs. The Portuguese winger also put the leather sharply in front of goal, but Kouyaté was just able to intervene before Tresoldi could become dangerous. A little after the quarter-hour mark, the visitors showed themselves once more through an action by Adekami. He then put the ball low in front of goal and there Somers popped up at the first post. Fortunately, the latter deviated the leather just wide of the goal. Shortly thereafter, the same Somers was even closer, but this time the goal frame saved for Club. Almost immediately after, Adekami also took his chance from the edge of the penalty area, but fortunately his shot was straight at Mignolet. The game was now going well up and down, as Blauw-Zwart also came squeaking once more. First Tresoldi failed to frame his header and moments later Vermant, after a nice combination with Vanaken, could not put enough power on his goal attempt.
Just about halfway through the first half, Tzolis received the ball on the right flank and the Greek winger put the leather sharply in front of goal. There Tresoldi smashed his head to the ball, but he was just sufficiently impeded by Kouyaté. The Bruges players did become increasingly threatening, but were a bit unlucky with their finishing. Spileers poked the ball nicely deep for Tzolis, who in turn laid off perfectly for the infiltrating Vermant. Kouyaté, however, smashed into the path of the shot, preventing worse. The next dangerous moment was not long in coming, but both Tresoldi (header on Nozawa) and Tzolis (shot blocked by Kouyaté) were also unsuccessful. A little past the half-hour mark, the ball was once again pumped into the sixteen and there Tresoldi first plucked the ball beautifully out of the air, but then decided a little too hastily and wildly across goal. Club kept trying, but time and again the luck in finishing was lacking. Seys also had to agree when he went for his chance on a dropped ball, but again an Antwerp player stood in the way. That way we went to rest with a glasses score....
The second half started with one change on the Bruges side. Mignolet stayed in the dressing room as a precaution and so van den Heuvel got his chance under the crossbar. Blauw-Zwart started the second half with a lot of drive and that resulted quickly in a good opportunity for Vermant. Forbs pushed forward well and played aside at the right moment for the young Bruges striker. Half while sliding he was able to kick towards goal, but the attempt was a little too central and so Nozawa was able to save. Moments later, Vanaken was the finishing touch, but the captain's header was just not hard enough and Antwerp's goalie was able to dive well to the leather. Soon after, Ordóñez was also able to put his head against the ball on a corner kick, but the leather went a meter wide of the goal. A little after the hour there was a brief reaction from the visitors, but 'The Great Old' did not get further than a harmless header from substitute Vandeplas. Then Club came much closer shortly after. First, a blast from Onyedika from outside the sixteen was deflected into a corner by Kouyaté. On this corner, Vanaken was able to head nicely to the far corner, but Nozawa had a good save on his hands. The best opportunity was for Mechele in the recovery, but from close range the Bruges defender unfortunately hit the side netting. This was the chance to make it 1-0...
The opportunities kept coming, however, and moments later Forbs was able to unleash his devils. At speed, he found the back line and then laid back for the infiltrating Onyedika. However, the Nigerian midfielder's attempt was once again blocked by an Antwerp defender. A few minutes later, there was full disbelief in the Jan Breydel Stadium when VAR called ref D'Hondt to the screen after hand play by Onyedika. The ball went on the dot, but van den Heuvel distinguished himself by saving Adekami's penalty and in the resumption the latter kicked high over goal. Nicky Hayen decided to make a quadruple change in order to get the win. Substitute Siquet immediately tried to show himself with a distance shot, but this posed no problem for Nozawa. Shortly before the end of regular playing time, Blauw-Zwart was dealt a blow. The substitute Hamdaoui was able to push through in the sixteen and laid back for Benítez at the right moment. Benítez did not hesitate to kick the ball into the net, past van den Heuvel.
As many as nine minutes of extra time were counted, and in it Campbell once went for his chance, but his shot from a difficult angle went well wide. A few minutes later Nozawa also had to intervene on a corner kick by Tzolis to prevent an Olympic goal. In the end, Blauw-Zwart unfortunately failed to score the equalizer.
Jupiler Pro League - Matchday 16
Spectators: 29,042 - Jan Breydelstadion
Referee: Lothar D'Hondt
Club Brugge: Simon Mignolet (46' Dani van den Heuvel) - Jorne Spileers (82' Hugo Siquet), Joel Ordóñez, Brandon Mechele, Joaquin Seys - Raphael Onyedika, Hans Vanaken, Romeo Vermant (82' Aleksandar Stanković) - Carlos Forbs (82' Shandre Campbell), Nicolò Tresoldi (82' Kaye Furo), Christos Tzolis.
Bench: Dani van den Heuvel, Axl De Corte, Hugo Siquet, Vince Osuji, Cisse Sandra, Hugo Vetlesen, Aleksandar Stanković, Shandre Campbell, Gustaf Nilsson, Kaye Furo.
Coach: Nicky Hayen.
R Antwerp FC: Taishi Brandon Nozawa - Zeno Van Den Bosch, Kiki Kouyaté, Yuto Tsunashima - Thibo Somers, Mauricio Benítez, Dennis Praet, Farouck Adekami (86' Youssef Hamdaoui) - Christopher Scott (75' Xander Dierckx), Gyrano Kerk (62' Gerard Vandeplas), Marwan Al-Sahafi (75' Isaac Babadi).
Bank: Yannick Thoelen, Kobe Corbanie, Isaac Babadi, Anthony Valencia, Semm Renders, Glenn Bijl, Rosen Bozhinov, Youssef Hamdaoui, Xander Dierckx, Gerard Vandeplas.
Coach: Faris Haroun (interim).
Yellow cards: Benítez, Kouyaté, Nozawa
Redcards: none
Goal: 88' Benítez (0-1)