Bjorn Meijer: "Happy to be a soccer player again"
After an absence of months Bjorn Meijer finally made his return, with a goal and two assists he crowned himself the absolute 'Man of the Match'. The Dutchman was therefore beaming after the cup game against Bilzen : "I'm happy to be a footballer again. I was really keen to celebrate my comeback tonight," the left-back opened his speech. "For most of my teammates this was not a special match but for me it was because finally I am getting back to playing soccer. So I was very keen to make my mark straight away. And this does a lot of good. Since my injury on the field of Antwerp on May 5, I had to work long, long on my way back. Mentally it wasn't always easy, but with the support of my girlfriend, my parents and family, everyone at the club, I managed to get back on my feet. When you can also score and get two assists, it feels great, I'm going to sleep well tonight. "When asked exactly what percentage he's at, Meijer couldn't really answer: "It's only my very first minutes after months of rehabilitation and against, with all due respect, an opponent of a lower level. Then it's hard to say exactly how far along you are. It will be important to progress step by step and that will be necessary because Club has also brought in two backs in the meantime. As a whole, this is good because with the many games coming up, a strong competition is needed." (MV)
Nicky Hayen: "Keeping this level for as long as possible"
Nicky Hayen could be satisfied with Blauw-Zwart's cup match. Club played well, won by large numbers and several players tanked confidence. "I am happy with the result and the game," said the Bruges coach. "It wasn't great because we didn't always make the right choices and we have to remain critical about that. But a number of players were able to gain confidence and Bjorn Meijer was able to celebrate his comeback, so I'm satisfied. He has worked so hard in recent months, so I am very happy. The favor factor was huge."
With Meijer's return, Nicky Hayen has a lot of choice on the left flank with De Cuyper and Seys as well. "I would rather make difficult choices now when I can count on everyone than not have to make any choices. We now have to keep this level as long as possible, starting Saturday against Leuven."
Hans Vanaken: "We want to get the most out of it on every level."
Blue-black beat Belisia Bilzen 6-1 at the Jan Breydel Stadium. A satisfied captain after a perfect evening: "It's good for the guys who have played less lately that they could make minutes today. Gustaf Nilsson is just back, Bjorn Meijer too after long inactivity and then immediately with a goal and 2 assists. That's nice for those guys to be able to play."
Club played with an unreleased eleven and it showed for a while at the beginning. "You know you will have the ball a lot, that you have to start looking for openings. The first ten, fifteen minutes you saw that things ran stiffer, that it was searching for automatisms, but once that first goal fell, everything ran smoother."
So substitutes Nilsson and Meijer were making their return after injury. "It's good, you could see it pleased them. So they can gain rhythm and confidence," the captain spoke. "Jutglà also picked up his goals and visibly enjoyed it. Good for the further course of this season."
Blauw-Zwart played eagerly and kept Bilzen in check fairly easily. "We want to get the most out of it on every level so the cup is also important for us. With Skov Olsen, Onyedika and myself, three players started who also played on Sunday, just because the cup is also a goal for us," he concluded after a nice cup night.