Club beats KV Oostende 4-2

Club Brugge recorded a 4-2 victory against KV Oostende on their own field. Blauw-Zwart seemed to have its sheep on dry land at halftime after goals from Vanaken and Jutglà, but after the break Hornby brought the score back into balance with two goals. Club still kept the three points at home in the end thanks to a goal by Nielsen and an owngoal by Katelaris.

Carl Hoefkens opted for a 4-3-3 against KVO, posting Tajon Buchanan at right back. At the back, Boyata and Meijer also joined the team, while up front Jutglà was joined by Nusa and Sowah. Compared to Wednesday's match against Porto, Odoi, Lang, the suspended Sylla and the injured Skov Olsen disappeared from the starting lineup. The changed lineup meant that the Bridge players had to search for automatisms for a while. The first danger came after just under ten minutes: Vanaken spooned the ball over the KVO defense, but Nusa was a toe short of pushing the ball in.

The chance for the 1-0 followed immediately after: goalkeeper Phillips deviated a shot by Jutglà into the feet of Nielsen, but he was too surprised to push the leather in. After that, however, things fell silent. Club played too sloppy and could not outplay Ostend's compact block. Blauw-Zwart got no further than two blocked shots by Meijer and Vanaken, while an effort by Sowah disappeared high over goal.

Ten minutes before halftime, the game suddenly broke open. After a one-two with Sowah, Hans Vanaken was able to push through centrally and kick in the 1-0. However, the reaction of the visitors was not long in coming: Mignolet had to turn out with a superb reflex to whip a Hornby header out of his goal area. A big warning for Club, which struck mercilessly immediately after: Capon headed a Vanaken cross into the feet of Jutglà, who pecked the 2-0 hard into goal. Blauw-Zwart was on a roll now and failed to finish off KVO before half time: a header by Jutglà went just wide and Onyedika kicked the ball over the cross from Nielsen.

Immediately after the break, the Bruges players had another excellent chance: after a combination through the center, Vanaken suddenly had oceans of space, but his shot went against the outside of the post. An even bigger chance followed a few minutes later: after a foul on Nusa, ref Staessens pointed to the spot. After Vanaken and Lang's penalty misses against Porto, this time it was Jutglà who went for his chance, but the Spaniard kicked the eleven-meter inside the reach of goalkeeper Phillips. Moments later, Nielsen cleverly made it to the back line, but the Dane was unable to reach Vanaken.

They turned out to be costly misses, because in no time it was suddenly 2-2. Boyata wanted to play Onyedika, but kicked the ball into the feet of Fraser Hornby. He accepted the gift and gave Mignolet the slip. To make matters worse, Boyata also caused a penalty kick moments later. The Red Devil was just too late with his tackle, bringing down McGeehan on the edge of the sixteen meters. After VAR intervention, Staessens pointed to the spot. Hornby knew no mercy and kicked the eleven-meter without fail.

Carl Hoefkens threw Noa Lang into the fray immediately afterwards, and he was the immediate source of the 3-2. After a through pass from the Dutchman, Tanghe touched the ball with his hand and so the ref again pointed to the spot. This time it was Casper Nielsen who took responsibility. His penalty was also parried by Phillips, but the Danish midfielder was able to tap in the rebound himself. The final decision came ten minutes before time: Lang deviated a cross from Sowah towards goal and there defender Katelaris clumsily pushed the ball past his own goalkeeper. 4-2, leaving the eight-point deficit on leaders Genk unchanged.

Jupiler Pro League - Playday 15
Spectators: 26,000 - Jan Breydelstadion
Referee: Brent Staessens
Club Brugge: Simon Mignolet - Tajon Buchanan (85' Denis Odoi), Dedryck Boyata, Brandon Mechele, Bjorn Meijer - Casper Nielsen (85' Éder Balanta), Raphael Onyedika, Hans Vanaken (85' Lynnt Audoor) - Antonio Nusa (67' Noa Lang), Kamal Sowah, Ferran Jutglà (77' Cyle Larin). Bench: Senne Lammens, Eduard Sobol and Cisse Sandra. Coach: Carl Hoefkens.
KV Oostende: Dillon Phillips - Fanos Kastelaris, Anton Tanghe, Brecht Capon - Siebe Wylin (46' Alessandro Albanese), Manuel Osifo (61' Kenny Rocha), Cameron McGeehan, Indy Boonen (78' Robbie D'Haese), Tutsuhiro Sakamoto - Fraser Hornby, David Atanga (78' Nick Bätzner). Coach: Yves Vanderhaeghe.
Yellow cards: Katelaris, Nielsen, Buchanan, Albanese.
Red cards: none
Goals: 34' Vanaken (1-0), 39' Jutglà (2-0), 58' Hornby (2-1), 65' Hornby (penalty, 2-2), 73' Nielsen (3-2), 80' Katelaris (owngoal, 4-2).