Blauw-Zwart won with the smallest difference at the Bosuil, putting pressure on leader Union. The defense again kept the zero in the competition. Wednesday's match against Eendracht Aalst-Lede in the Cup of Belgium awaits.
Romeo Vermant: "This trophy is not only for me, but for the whole team."
Vermant received the Man of the Match trophy and is clearly pleased with it. "I think I played a good match. It was a tough match with a lot of duels. I'm especially happy with how we proved ourselves as a team. There was hard fighting by everyone, so this trophy is not only for me, but for the whole team."
The only goal of the match was scored by Vermant, a typical action of the striker. "That is indeed a little bit my characteristic. I always keep going until it's done. I pushed on until I recaptured the ball. Then I went for my chance and the shot landed."
There was some buzz in the media about his fellow striker Tresoldi's starting place against Bayern. The question was raised as to whether he wanted to prove extra that he should be Club's first striker. He responded clearly, "I'm always keen to play, certainly not to prove that I should be first striker. I just want to show every time what I can do. Tresoldi wants that too and that makes for a good relationship."
Vermant is especially pleased with the three points on Antwerp's pitch. "For Club Brugge it is never easy to play soccer here. We could perhaps have decided the match faster, but the most important thing is to take the three points. And we succeeded."
Nicky Hayen: "We showed fighting spirit and character to get the win"
"I am very happy with the three points," began the Bruges coach. "After the defeat in Bayern, we still wanted to show something. In the first half we started well and also scored the goal, but then our game faded. Just after halftime we adjusted that and came out of the locker room strong. However, their first big chance was very dangerous and then we started to hesitate. Those are things that we want to improve, but it goes step by step. In the end, you know you don't win easily here. If you know that in the regular league you lost here three times in a row, took the equalizer in the closing minutes and got distance shots in in injury time ... then we really showed fighting spirit and character today to get the win over the line."
Against Antwerp, perhaps a little more was expected from Club. "Then I have to say that people underestimated Antwerp. If you look at their play in other games, you see that they actually compete well. They get chances and hit the post four or five times in recent games. You certainly shouldn't underestimate them; they were definitely the equal today. However, they are now in the corner where the hits fall. Whether you win 0-1 or 0-4 ... it's still three points. The way is important, but at this stage you just have to make sure you win."
So again, Blue-Black wins by the smallest of differences. "You can also look at it positively and say we kept the zero again. We know that there are a lot of working points and that we have a lot of young guys who still need to grow. We have to develop those to make them into a balanced profile. We continue to work on that every day."
Unfortunately, Bjorn Meijer dropped out injured. "That is indeed a loss and very unfortunate. It appears to be a serious injury (based on the initial diagnosis) and it is logical that Bjorn is now in the doldrums. We will try to give him as much support and warmth as possible at this time," Hayen concluded.
Brandon Mechele: "Winning is the most important thing."
Brandon Mechele looked back on a hard-fought game for Blue-Black. "In the first half it was still good from us. Then we still found the spaces. However, the second half was different. We almost stopped playing soccer. They pressed a little more, were a little more aggressive and we had a harder time with that. Fortunately, we had made the 0-1 by then and we kept the zero again."
"For once it would be nice to be able to play out a match quietly instead of games like now, with one goal difference," he continued. "Winning and getting the three points is obviously the most important thing in this busy period, but finishing a match quicker would be nice for once."
Wednesday's home match in the cup competition is scheduled. "It is a busy period and we will need everyone. Unfortunately, Bjorn Meijer is dropping out again. I hope so hard that it's not too bad. He is working so hard and was playing well again. I keep my fingers crossed that it doesn't come back. Furthermore, we can use everyone. Everyone has to be ready," he closed his outlook on the coming weeks at Club Brugge.