The duel between Club Brugge's pledges and KMSK Deinze ended 1-3. Club NXT U23 fell behind in the second half against a reluctant home team, but still turned the deficit into a big win through goals by Et-Taïbi, Faraas and Audoor.
In an icy Dakota Arena yesterday, our youngsters went in search of a win. Against a reluctant home team, Club NXT immediately took the initiative. On an initial corner kick, Simba was able to break free from the home defense, but he headed over goal. Soon after, Captain Vermant put himself through on the right flank and gave the ball to Lenn De Smet. With a nice turn he popped towards the first corner. Goalkeeper Miras saw the ball disappear just wide of the post.
From the defense Jano Willems launched a quick shot from Homma. He quickly put the ball in front of goal where Vermant was ready to finish. However, his shot hit the crossbar. Coach Hayen then had to substitute the injured Barbera for Faraas. SK Deinze gradually took the initiative, bringing the game back into balance. A corner kick put Prychynenko in shooting position, but his attempt went over goal. After a nice game of soccer, we rested with a glasses score.
Both coaches made some substitutions at the start of the second half. Goemaere replaced the slightly injured Liam De Smet. This time the home team came out of the locker rooms the best. Braken quickly hit the goalpost. Afterwards, Van Landschoot also hit the goalpost. A free kick on the edge of the penalty area eventually proved fatal to Club NXT. De Schryver kicked the ball sharply in front of goal, where Lemoine surprised goalkeeper Shinton with a header: 1-0 for Deinze. Less than five minutes after the opening goal, the hard-working Seys put the ball in front of goal. Vermant let pass and the incoming Et-Taïbi surprised everyone. He delightfully popped the equalizer into the roof of the goal. 1-1!
The hunger was not yet satisfied at CLub NXT. Simba popped the post via a corner kick from Homma. Moments later, Homma ran into the back of the defense. Faraas followed well and pushed the leather past the goalkeeper. 1-2! The home team could not make a fist after that. With a few minutes to go, captain Vermant was replaced by 15-year-old Da Silva due to a minor injury. In extra time, Audoor put the icing on the cake. In front of the sixteen-yard line, the midfielder aimed with the left into the first corner. The 1-3 was on the scoreboard.
Our youngsters are counting on a massive turnout at The Nest next Saturday against RSCA Futures. For now, they stand in a nice sixth place in the ranking as the best promising team in the Challenger Pro League.
Club NXT: Nick Shinton, Amine Et-Taïbi, Jano Willems, William Simba, Joaquin Seys, Liam De Smet (46' Laurens Goemaere), Sem Audoor, Lenn De Smet, Shion Homma, Sven Vermant (85' Jessi Da Silva), Victor Barbera (15' Benjamin Faraas). Bench: Kiany Vroman, Tobias Jensen, Alejandro Granados, Sasha Yakymenko. Coach: Nicky Hayen.
Deinze: Nacho Miras, Teo Quintero, Laurent Lemoine, Guillaume De Schryver (68' Steve De Ridder), Gaëtan Hendrickx (75' Emilio Kehrer), Denis Prychynenko, Jellert Van Landschoot, Kenneth Schuermans, Ayman Kassimi (46' Anne Souleymane), Alessio Staelens, Lennart Mertens (46' Sven Braken). Bank: William Dutoit, Dylan De Belder, Jur Schryvers,. Coach: Hans Somers.
Goals: 56' Lemoine 1-0, 60' Et-Taïbi 1-1, 74' Faraas 1-2, 90+ 3' Audoor 1-3.
Yellow cards: 7' Mertens, 28' Schuermans, 66' Lemoine, 90 + 2' Anne, 90 + 5' Audoor.
Referee: Massimiliano Ledda.
Stadium: Dakota Arena.