Post-match reactions after Club-Antwerp

After the 1-0 win against Antwerp, we gathered reactions from Joaquin Seys, Hans Vanaken, Gustaf Nilsson and coach Nicky Hayen.

Nilsson: "A deserved victory."

"I am happy with our first win. We have had tough games and today was tough again. I'm happy to score my first goal for Club. I hit the crossbar with a header in the first half. Of course, as a striker, you want to score as many goals as possible. We got our first three points of the season and can now build momentum."

"I didn't hesitate at the penalty and looked in advance where the goalkeeper would jump at. We played a good first half and it was really only a goal that was missing. In the second half we created little goal danger, but so did Antwerp. I think we deserved to win. This is an important win today."

Seys: "Happy with the fans' appreciation"

Man of the Match Joaquin Seys reacted enthusiastically after today's victory against Antwerp. "I had cramps at the end of the match giving everything. I feel I'm growing every week and that's the most important thing for me. I have to bring out the best of myself every match and play as many minutes as possible. I enjoy every moment I get here. So I am happy with the loud applause and appreciation from the fans at my changeover."

"Everyone has accepted me well in the group. Mignolet takes good care of me, but of course I also learn a lot from De Cuyper, who has the same position as me. He shows me what can be done better or differently. The biggest difference from last year at NXT is the higher intensity and constant focus.

"We had a good talk with the coach this week. It showed that we still have the same goal: to play champion and win the cup. We know what is expected of us and we are going to be there every week. I'm happy with today's victory."

Maxim De Cuyper: "We needed this victory."

It turned out to be a hard-fought win for Blauw-Zwart and Maxim De Cuyper had seen that too. Back in his familiar place on the left in defense, he saw that the first three points were in. "Our first three points are very pleasing. I hope we are now set off for a positive series. I think it was a deserved victory. We started very well, but I think we lost the ball too quickly at the end of the first half. We had to try to keep possession of the ball longer. So that didn't work out so our level of play obviously went down. So we definitely need to become more sensible about that and that will definitely improve our game as well."

"Almost at the very end came that penalty. It doesn't really matter how we scored today, but that goal did come at an ideal time for us. It was a bit of a game where the first team to score wins. We needed this win. Next week to Dender, who by the way took a very good start, will be another story, but we will certainly discuss this game well in the coming week."(FDC)

Nicky Hayen: "You clearly saw that the group wanted to react"

Blauw-Zwart picked up its first win of the season against Antwerp and so Nicky Hayen looked back with satisfaction afterwards. "We took the game to us from the first whistle. Sometimes we kicked the far cross a little too quickly, but you clearly saw that the group wanted to react after this lesser period. The first seventy minutes were good. In terms of energy and intensity it went down after that, but then we switched to mentality. There are several things we still need to make progression in, but we will continue to work on that. The team is not overflowing with confidence at the moment, but this three-pointer will certainly do us good."

"Because of the 1-on-9 of the past few weeks, the pressure was high to win today. At no point have I been concerned with my position. I am very happy here and want to stay here as long as possible. I also had a good talk with the management and there was also a good training intensity this week. The most important thing was to put energy into the team and to respond on the field. And you saw that today, especially in the first half." (SF)

Hans Vanaken: "Today though efficient in both sixteen yards"

"It was an important win today. We had some bad luck at times, but we were mostly not efficient enough then. Today we were. Our second half was probably one of our lesser ones, but we did win and that's the most important thing. Was there extra pressure from the boardroom? In a top club you have to be used to dealing with pressure and performing. If we would have started with 9 out of 9, then today the expectation would also have been that we would win."

Against Antwerp, the Limburger often stayed high up and was less emphatic in retrieving the ball at the back. "They want me to get on the ball as high up the pitch as possible. Then sometimes I have to be patient. Sometimes I will retrieve the ball lower, but now it was a matter of staying high. We also knew that there would be space in the backs of their wingers, which is why our backs often played higher. We did create some opportunities to score that way. That eventually succeeded. The last quarter of an hour we then fought hard to get the win."

Gustaf Nilsson also managed to score his very first goal for Blauw-Zwart. "He never talked about not having scored yet. He is someone who can easily score a goal, so it was just a matter of time. He had also already hit the goal frame three times in four matches. Hopefully now he's left for a nice run of goals." (SF)