In the last game of the regular competition, Club NXT played a draw against Standard's youngsters at Sclessin. In an evenly matched match, neither team managed to score. Thus, our youngsters finish in fifth place and will take on the best five teams from the Challenger Pro League in two weeks in the playoffs.
Coach Hayen rested some star players in view of the far away trip to Standard. William Simba and Jano Willems were given their first places in the starting line-up.
The NXT goalkeeper did not have much work in the first half. The first corner kick was for the Liège players, but their attempt went wide of the goal. A shot by Kuavita was easily caught by Shinton. Seys ran down his flank and played Servais who in turn swished the ball in front of goal, but goalkeeper Epolo plucked the leather out of the air. The home team tried to put pressure on our youngsters, but Blauw-Zwart did not get into trouble. There were no real chances for either side. When Talbi saw Servais running free after an acceleration, he could not pass because of offside. Just before half time De Roeve had a chance to make it 0-1, but he headed the ball over goal after a quick counter attack via Seys. The teams went into halftime with a 0-0 score on the board.
The second half
After halftime, the same play pattern as in the first half. A lot of combining and searching, but no real chances for either team. The industrious Homma looked for opportunities to find a hole in the SL16 lines. In a combination with De Roeve, he popped at goal, but the Liege goalie stood guard well. After an hour, the home team changed some players hoping to turn the game around, but Blauw-Zwart was well organized.
De Roeve served Homma, but his shot was blocked. The substitute Dodeigne wanted to turn the ball beautifully into the goal, but Shinton was on hand and boxed the ball away with a quick reflex. Pérez was then allowed to rest and substitute Lenn De Smet was immediately in the game. He was able to lay on the ball, but his shot was blocked by the goalkeeper.
Shinton was in the right place and prevented Ghalidi from scoring. Afterwards, the leather rolled dangerously past the goal of our Bridge goalie. Just before the end of regular playing time, Servais had the chance to give Club NXT the three points. Epolo saved the ball from under the crossbar.
The game remained 0-0, allowing Club NXT to finish in fifth place. Together with Beveren, RWDM, Beerschot, Lierse and the RSCA Futures, it will compete in the Promotion Play-Offs of the Challenger Pro League. The calendar will be announced on Monday, Feb. 13.
Club NXT: Nick Shinton, William Simba, Jano Willems, Denzel De Roeve, Joaquin Seys, Liam De Smet, Chemsdine Talbi, Shion Homma (81' Aimar Cuevas), Mathis Servais (90' Oleksandr Yakymenko), Daniel Pérez (74' Lenn De Smet), Romeo Vermant. Bench: Lukas Mondele, Sem Audoor, Jonathan Foss.
Coach: Nicky Hayen.
SL16: Matthieu Epolo, Noah Mawete, Ryan Berberi (63' Thiago Paulo da Silva), Sacha Banse, Brahim Traoré, Ilyes Ziani, Anisse Brrou (63' Brahim Ghalidi), Léandre Kuavita (81' Biame Daraw), Aleksander Buksa (47' Boubou Diallo), Alexandro Callut, Frédéric Duplus (63' Noah Dodeigne).
Coach: Joseph Laumann.
Referee: Rob Dieperink
Stadium: Sclessin