Club suffered a first defeat in the Jupiler Pro League on matchday 2 when Blauw-Zwart took on KV Mechelen at the AFAS Stadium. The hosts quickly scored through Mrabti and Schoofs doubled the lead from the spot before the hour mark. Tzolis' goal provided hope, but Club would end up losing.
Blauw-Zwart won the opening fixture 1-0 against Genk, so coach Nicky Hayen had little reason to change a lot about his line-up. Yet, there were two new names with Jackers in goal - both he and Mignolet will get some playing time in the opening fixtures - and Romero replacing Ordóñez in the heart of the defence. The Ecuadorian was unavailable for this match.
It was Club who made the brighter start, pressing high up the pitch and carving out an early half-chance. Vetlesen whipped in a dangerous ball from the right and Vermant managed to glance it on with his head towoards Tzolis, who found himself free at the far post, but the Greek winger couldn’t steer his volley on target.
Five minutes later, however, it was the home side who struck with their first meaningful attack. Lauberbach threaded a clever ball in behind for Pflücke, who drilled it low across the face of goal. Mrabti timed his run to perfection and slid in to poke it past Jackers for an early lead. Not long after, Mechelen nearly doubled their advantage. Lauberbach first shrugged off Romero and then went one-on-one with Jackers. The striker tried to round the keeper, but Jackers did well to stay on his feet and dive into the feet to smother the ball. It took twenty minutes for Club to mount a response, as Vanaken picked out Reis in the box. The Dutchman tried to fire first-time, but his effort lacked both power and precision. Moments later, Romero had a go from distance, but his shot was straight at De Wolf, who had no trouble tipping it over the bar.
Club began to take control during this spell, enjoying more of the ball, but the aerial efforts from Vermant and later Tzolis posed little threat. Tzolis did come closer after being picked out by Seys in the area. He beat a couple of defenders with quick feet and aimed for the far top corner, but his strike sailed over De Wolf’s bar. Shortly after, the Mechelen keeper had to intervene again, this time dealing with a tame strike from Vetlesen following some neat interplay between Reis, Vanaken, and the Norwegian. It was a decent move, but the finish was lacking. The first half ended with Mechelen still in front: 1-0.
No changes at the break, but this time the hosts came flying out. From the first corner of the second half, Marsa tested Jackers with a close-range header, which the Club keeper managed to palm away. However, the ball had struck Vermant’s hand in the build-up. After a VAR check, referee Lambrechts pointed to the spot. Schoofs made no mistake, sending Jackers the wrong way to double Mechelen’s lead.
Club tried to respond quickly through Tzolis, but his shot whistled past the post. On the hour mark, coach Hayen made four changes in one go, bringing on Meijer, Tresoldi, Forbs, and Skóraś. The latter made an immediate impact with a fine cross onto Vanaken’s head, but De Wolf was equal to it with a brilliant diving save. The game opened up, with both sides creating chances. Pflücke flashed one just wide, while Tresoldi couldn’t quite get on the end of a low cross across goal. Mechelen’s counter-attacks remained dangerous too; Lauberbach broke clear again but couldn’t get the better of Jackers in another one-on-one.
Then came the lifeline. With twenty minutes to go, Seys played a smart ball in behind for Forbs, who cut it back perfectly for Tzolis. The Greece international made no mistake this time, curling a lovely finish into the far corner to give Club hope. That goal lit a fire under Blauw-Zwart, who put the pressure on the home side. Seys again found space to cross and Tresoldi’s header shaved past the post.
Vanaken then had a go from a free-kick, but he smashed it straight into the wall. From the resulting phase, the ball was whipped in to the far post where Meijer headed it back across goal, and Tresoldi nodded just wide from close range. Still Club pressed. Tzolis had another opportunity at the edge of the box, but De Wolf got behind his shot. Deep into normal time, Vanaken won the ball high on the left and teed up Skóraś. The Polish winger let fly from just outside the area, but couldn’t find the target.
Six minutes of stoppage time were added, but the only real effort came from Tresoldi, who headed over the bar. And so, despite a spirited second half, Club couldn’t find the equaliser and are left with just three points from their opening two fixtures.
Up next: a European test against FC Red Bull Salzburg on Wednesday.
Jupiler Pro League – Matchday 2
Attendance: 16.672 – AFAS Stadion
Referee: Erik Lambrechts
KV Mechelen: Ortwin De Wolf – Rafik Belghali, Redouane Halhal, José Marsà, Moncef Zekri (78’ Ian Struyf) – Fredrik Hammar, Kerim Mrabti (78’ Halil Özdemir) , Rob Schoofs - Patrick Pflücke (71’ Mory Konaté), Lion Lauberbach, Bilal Bafdili (85’ Ryan Teague).
Bench: Nacho Miras, Thérence Koudou, Ryan Teague, Mory Konaté, Nikola Storm, Lovro Golic, Ian Struyf, Bill Antonio, Halil Özdemir.
Coach: Frédéric Vanderbiest.
Club Brugge: Nordin Jackers – Jorne Spileers, Zaid Romero (59’ Bjorn Meijer), Brandon Mechele, Joaquin Seys - Raphael Onyedika (79’ Aleksandar Stanković), Ludovit Reis (59’ Nicolò Tresoldi), Hans Vanaken – Hugo Vetlesen (59’ Carlos Forbs), Romeo Vermant (59’ Michał Skóraś), Christos Tzolis.
Bench: Simon Mignolet, Dani van den Heuvel, Bjorn Meijer, Hugo Siquet, Vince Osuji, Aleksandar Stanković, Michał Skóraś, Lynnt Audoor, Nicolò Tresoldi, Carlos Forbs, Cisse Sandra.
Coach: Nicky Hayen.
Yellow cards: Hammar, Halhal, Özdemir, De Wolf
Red cards: none
Goals: 7’ Mrabti (1-0), 51’ Schoofs (2-0), 68’ Tzolis (2-1)