Hans Vanaken: "We focus on the title race"
It was a smiling captain who addressed the press following Club's win against Racing Genk. "I think we did well today. The conditions were in our favour, like the red card for Smets. It's not alsways easier to play against ten men, but we took advantage of it well by creating more space for ourselves which allowed us to score the seconf goal. We ook our chances at the right time, including our goal in the first half. Things need to go our way sometimes and today they did."
"Genk have players who like to drive forward and create an overload situation, but we dealt with it. We lost our grip on the game a bit in the second half, but they didn't too much with the ball possession. I saw a lot of good things today for next week."
Next week Club face Anderlecht again after we won the cup final. "We had a week to celebrate that win and to recuperate. Since Wednesday we focussed on the title race again, because we still have a chance to win the double. It was important for us to win today so we keep close tabs on Union and that's what we've done."
Hugo Vetlesen: "We keep believing"
The man of the match was without a doubt Hugo Vetlesen. With a goal and an assist he played a key role in tonight's victory. "I've waited a long time for this moment. It hasn't always been easy, but I'm very pleased with my performance tonight. This is a reward for all the hard work I've put in. I played not so often as I would have like, because others played simply played very good. The coach gave me more minutes in the past weeks, so I'm proud to help the team out."
The victory at the Cegeka Arena means that Club keeps the gap to Union to a minimum and Blauw-Zwart is now certain of finishing at least second. "We keep believing and we will do everything in our power to win our last two games. Let's hope it's enough for the title."
Nicky Hayen: "Good communication on the pitch"
“In the end, I think this was a deserved victory. It wasn’t smooth, certainly not in the first half hour. It was immediately an open match, and we mainly tried to be dangerous with shots from distance. But they had the first big chances. Jackers keeps us in it at that moment, and after that we grew into the game. In that first half hour, I thought they were sharper in the duels and quicker to the second ball. But then we started to play more our game, we found the spaces and that’s how you create a nice goal. The red card also helps. It was a really good bit of positioning from Vermant, and then they play a poor pass, which leads to the red. But that doesn’t mean you automatically win the match. You still have to stay focused. You might have a man more, but you need to keep your organisation. And then you see that Arokodare can get a free header for the chance to equalise, and that’s against three defenders. That’s something that, in theory, shouldn’t happen, so we got away with one there. Aside from that, I think we kept control and managed to extend the score. In the end, it looked easier than it really was.”
At certain moments Club lost some intensity to hurt Genk. "That’s true to a degree, and it’s not what we asked of the players. It starts up front: the two centre-backs need to be put under pressure. That forces them to play backwards and lets us push up the pitch, keep them away from our goal. We’ve given so much in recent weeks. I’m not saying it’s a physical issue, but you do feel a certain fatigue. I don’t mind dropping the block a bit deeper, but then you have to be sharp on every ball that comes into that zone. You saw that Heynen and Hrosovsky were getting just a bit too much space to play, and Steuckers was finding gaps between the lines. But we managed that reasonably well through Jashari."
“You just can’t let their midfield get into rhythm and at certain moments after the hour mark, we did allow that too often. I just try to pass on the right things to the players. We analyse a lot during the week and train for these things. But of course, you hope the opponent plays into your hands as well. They can adapt, too. We know that if they start using dynamic rotations in their play, we have to be ready for that. What was most important to me and I thought we did better with it today, was the communication on the pitch. If you communicate clearly with each other, you can solve a lot. I still think that’s something we don’t do quite enough in Belgian football. With good communication and coaching, you can achieve a lot, and that’s something we’ll continue to emphasise.”
Club is still trailing Union by just the one point and still has a chance to win the title. "That’s the only thing we can do at the moment: keep doing our job and take as many points as possible, to keep the pressure on Union. After today, we’re at least sure of second place, and now it comes down to the last two matches. It’s about who can stay calm. With this win, maybe we’ve made them a little more nervous. But you also have to be honest and say they’re doing very well at the moment."
“If both teams take six points from the last two games, then you have to accept that. If you get 28 points in the play-offs, that’s fantastic. But let’s wait and see what the final two matches bring.”
Romeo Vermant: "Already looking forward to next week"
Last week's match winner in the cup final couldn't find the back of the net this week, but he did play a huge role when a fould on Smets resulted in a red card for the defender. "I didn't score today, but I tried to help out the team in other ways like putting high pressure which resulted in a foul on me that ended in Smets seeing red. This wasn't my best game, but I did make it difficult on my opponents. That's something that defines my style of playing: trying to take advantage on every small mistake by the opponent."
Next week Club play the second but last match away against Anderlecht. "The three points were the most important today. I watched Anderlecht's game yesterday, also to see what we can expect next week. I think it's going to come down to the last match. Despite the tension I don't feel too much stress. It will be a match between two sides who will give everything. I'm already looking forward to it."