Read below all the reactions after the match between Union and Club Brugge.
Ivan Leko: "We may have lost a battle, but not yet the war."
"It was a close game," the Club coach began his analysis. "There was a lot of verticality and there were a lot of duels. Those are just the kind of games where Union is better. I don't think they really dominated us in this match, but they were maybe a little better at finding space with vertical balls. This, however, without creating big chances, and we also had our moments, including in the transition and through counterattacks. There was no long possession today, but for me it was a close game. Let's say maybe 55-45 percent in their favor. Then you never know what result it will produce.
I felt like we were swallowing goals too easily, but with goals against, mistakes are always made. That's a shame, because I really felt that both teams could score: us mainly through quick counterattacks and they more through their power football. Today the dime fell their way and this is an important win for them. So this is actually three points and a little bit more.
Now it is up to us to process, analyze and push even harder after this painful defeat. We will start doing that tomorrow, because there is still a lot to play. Obviously for them now there is a nice lead of four points, which makes them feel good and obviously makes us feel not so good.
However, we will not give up and will definitely fight back. Starting on Wednesday (against KV Mechelen) we will do everything we can to force our luck ourselves. There are still 21 points to earn and last year it was exceptional for Union to reach 28 out of 30. If a team now picks up so many points again, I can only say 'chapeau'. We may have lost a battle, but not yet the war," the Blauw-Zwart coach concluded.
Romeo Vermant: "I wanted to show everyone that we had to make it difficult for them."
After the defeat on the Union field, Romeo Vermant returned to the match visibly disappointed.
"As usual, the match against Union was exciting. Often there was less soccer, but a lot of duels. Then you have to wait and see which side the coin falls to, and unfortunately that was their side today. This is obviously very sour for us. We showed a lot of intensity and unfortunately that didn't pay off."
From the very beginning of the match, it was clear that the striker was looking forward to it. "I wanted to show from the start of the game to everyone in our team that we had to make it difficult for them by going into duels. It's a shame we didn't get a result out of it."
Wednesday already awaits the next match at the Jan Breydel Stadium against KV Mechelen: "We know that we have to be ready for that match, that there is no more room to make mistakes. They don't make many mistakes either, but there are still seven matches to go all the way," Club's striker concluded combatively.
Hugo Vetlesen: "We failed to bring our own soccer well enough."
Hugo Vetlesen started in the starting line-up to replace the not entirely fit Hans Vanaken. Thus he was rewarded for his strong foray into STVV.
"It was a tough match. You know it comes down to being strong defensively and exploiting the few chances that come along. In that they succeeded better than we did."
"Scherpen shook another clever save out of his sleeves at the very end to prevent the equalizer. It could have been even at the end, but unfortunately that ball didn't go in. Otherwise, of course, it would have been a completely different feeling."
The midfielder was less able to make his mark than last week, when he turned the match around with his substitute. "I tried to fight well and create and exploit spaces, but it wasn't simple. We failed to bring our own soccer well enough. There are some things I could have done better anyway and where the team could have done better. We now have to analyze that and take it to Wednesday's match, when KV Mechelen visits, so that we are ready for the matches that follow."