Club NXT U23 wins 2-1 over Beerschot

In the battle for third place, Club NXT U23 hosted Beerschot at The Nest. Blauw-Zwart was boss in their own home, leading 2-0 in the first half through Lenn De Smet and captain Romeo Vermant. Also in the second half, the best chances were for Club NXT. Beerschot eased to 2-1 shortly before the whistle. Third place is a fact after a strong team performance.

Led by brand new head coach Hayk Milkon, Club NXT went in search of another three-pointer. Blue-Black started the match strong. Vermant tried to reach De Roeve, who broke through, but he shot wide of goal. On the other side, in-form goalkeeper Nick Shinton had to stop two attempts by the Antwerp players. Afterwards, Talbi set up an attack at speed. He gave a good through pass to Lenn De Smet, who in turn beat two Beerschot players and delightfully kicked in the 1-0 through the legs of goalkeeper Lathouwers.

Beerschot could do little in return. A header by Van den Bergh and a hard shot by former player Thibo Baeten posed no problem for goalkeeper Shinton. Just before halftime, Koshi tackled winger Talbi in the sixteen. Captain Vermant scored the 2-0 with a clever panenka. Half-time score: 2-0.

Coach Wieland (Beerschot) changed three players at the start of the second half. Beerschot played a few chances together, but did not create any great danger. Our youngsters went in search of the third goal. On the hour, Talbi again served Lenn De Smet, but he popped the ball over.

Just before the end of regular playing time, Beerschot managed to make it 2-1. Via a corner kick, Weymans beat goalkeeper Shinton with a deviated shot. In extra time, a header by Kosiah off a Baeten cross landed just wide of the post. Club NXT did not panic and played out the match maturely. Blauw-Zwart moved up to third place in the Challengers Pro League. An undeserved victory! Coach Hayk Milkon debuts with a three-pointer. The next game is on Saturday, April 1 at Lierse behind closed doors.

Club NXT: Nick Shinton, Kyriani Sabbe, Joël Ordoñez, Jano Willems, Joaquin Seys, Liam De Smet, Denzel De Roeve, Chemsdine Talbi (62' Mauricio Aimar Cuevas), William Simba, Lenn De Smet (84' Oleksandr Yakymenko), Romeo Vermant (62' Daniel Pérez). Bench: Henri Maton, Jonathan Foss, Bruce Deuwel. Coach: Hayk Milkon.

Beerschot: Bill Lathouwers, Jan Van Den Bergh, Hervé Matthys, Luca Meisi, Thibo Baeten, Thibaud Verlinden (76' Frédéric Frans), Nökkvi Thorisson (46' Axl Van Himbeek), Andi Koshi (46' Marco Weymans), Danté Rigo, Ilias Sabaoui (46' Aouba Kosiah), Apostolos Konstantopoulos (64' Léo Seydoux). Coach: Andreas Wieland.

Goals: 21' Lenn De Smet 1-0, 43' Romeo Vermant 2-0 (penalty).

Yellow cards: 65' Van den Bergh.

Referee: Alexandre Boucaut.