After the handsome win in the topper against Anderlecht, we gleaned reactions from Onyedika, Sabbe, Nusa, Jackers and interim coach Hayen.
Raphael Onyedika: "This tastes like more"
For the first time since October 2020, Club Brugge was able to secure another home victory against Anderlecht, thanks in part to a sterling Raphael Onyedika who was proclaimed 'Man of the Match'. The midfielder then addressed the press with a big smile.
"That I was named best player today is nice for me personally but it is also nothing more than a footnote after a great match in which we fought as a team and won," the Nigerian opened his argument. "I did play some good games during the season and always kept working hard, but my two goals obviously made my performance stand out even more. I'm just very happy that I was able to help the team today. These are my very first goals this season, by the way, but it tastes like more. With the 2-0 I was completely free and immediately knew I had to take my chance, because from a position like that you always have to try. When the ball flies past the goalkeeper into the goal, you are momentarily out of this world. Ditto regarding my second goal, because then you are on the pitch with a lot of confidence."
When asked with what ambition Club should face the rest of the playoffs, the 22-year-old midfielder was clear. "We can now enjoy this deserved victory for a very short time, but from tomorrow we have to put the focus back on the sequel. The gap is now five points and so everything remains playable, so we must not give up. We just keep pushing... " (MV)
Kyriani Sabbe: "Played with a lot of grinta"
In contrast to the regular competition, Club Brugge recorded a logical and deserved victory. An opinion also shared by Kyriani Sabbe.
"We were very close to the ball from the first minute and with a lot of grinta we took Anderlecht by the throat. And then you get the crowd that propelled us to victory today." And the Bruges youth product continued. "Whether this is a reference match for myself? Not in itself, because I just have to try to grab every opportunity with two hands. Regardless of whether the opponent is Anderlecht or Westerlo...you have to give your all for the team every match. As a young player, this is not always obvious, because compared to Club NXT, you play week after week at a higher level. Then the key is to keep making strides and try to pick up that level as quickly as possible. What's left for Club now? We just have to keep trying our hardest and then you know that anything is still possible. Let's say we win against Antwerp next week, then we will be two points closer to Union and Anderlecht and put some pressure on them. But Thursday there is still PAOK first..." (MV)
Antonio Nusa: "Played a very good game as a team"
Young Norwegian winger Antonio Nusa was also asked for his opinion after the won clash against Anderlecht.
"I can be doubly satisfied today. First of all, we grab an over-deserved win against the arch-rival from Brussels, but I can also be quite satisfied with my own performance. I am 100% fit and both physically and mentally I am in better shape now and then the performance on the field will follow. But I don't want to talk myself into the spotlight, because we played a very good game as a team. Nothing can be faulted in our victory and moreover we have taken revenge for the undeserved loss in the regular competition where we went down in the closing stages. That we held the lead this time? It is true that in the regular season we were too often beaten in the final stages. Think of Antwerp, Kortrijk, STVV, Anderlecht ... which led to too many unnecessary point losses. But we learned from this and today we were able to hold on to the result. Now it's up to us to continue down that road." (MV)
Nordin Jackers: "We have to have confidence in the core"
Nordin Jackers brought some more clever saves in the second half and the young goalkeeper had his share in the 3-1 win against Anderlecht.
"After the goals in the two half, we were able to get it over the line. But we still have to be sober in the gap with the teams at the front of the standings. However, this is an important victory towards next week. We only focused on our own game today and did not look at the rest. Despite the absence of some basic players, we put in a good performance. We have to have confidence in everyone at the core. Everyone is ready and we proved that today, But we have to stay level-headed. Last week we played a good second half and we continued that line today. It was a deserved victory. A coach change brings a new wind and the coach has his way of playing soccer and we try to do that as well as we can. I'm glad it's going so well. Now it's turning the knob and it's back on to Thursday."
Club already played its fifty-first match this season and European still has midweek matches against PAOK to follow. "The number of matches does start to weigh on the group, but we find a good balance in training during the week. We try to have as many fit players as possible during the weekend and also on Thursday so. European we can write another great story and we are all looking forward to that. We're going to go full steam ahead for that." (KN)
Nicky Hayen: "This was a reference match from Club"
Interim coach Hayen was obviously very pleased with his team's performance after the deserved win in the topper against Anderlecht.
"I thought this performance was an extension of the second half against Cercle Brugge," the interim coach began his story. "Only today we didn't wait until the second half to put such a performance on the mat. You felt from the warm-up that the whole stadium was behind us and it stayed that way throughout the match. Obviously that was also fueled with the early goal, but after that we also kept pushing forward and looking for chances. We remained dominant for pretty much the entire game. Of course I also respect the opinion of the opponent's coach, but I don't have to agree with that in itself. In fact, I thought we showed very good pressing and brought dominant soccer. For me, this is a reference match for Club Brugge, with a lot of intensity and good soccer. Everyone went for it 100% and you noticed, at the moments when we dropped back a bit in the second half, that the crowd helped us through that difficult moment. The supporters were fantastic and I honestly had goose bumps when I saw the synergy between the supporters and the players tonight. So I dare to speak of a magical evening. Of course, I am also sober enough to realize that one swallow does not make spring. It will remain important to bring the same intensity time after time, and that starts at training. After all, every player at Club is an added value and we just have to maintain this level for as long as possible."
Nicky Hayen has gotten the fire back into the player group in a short period of time. "I simply did that by hitting the right strings here and there. Above all, I made it clear that we have to dare to play with guts and not be afraid or fearful of making mistakes. We must dare to make those mistakes. In several sessions with the technical staff, we tried to put the competitiveness back into the team."
Vanaken and Skov Olsen also could not be called upon for the topper. "On that front we are indeed somewhat in a difficult situation right now, but we are trying to find solutions. Today we also found them, but that may not be the case every time. It is especially clear that our core is broader than some people think. We play a lot of matches, so that broad core is also very important. That way there's more competition and that's good. It's then up to us to make the right choices."
Onyedika is firmly back in the starting lineup and thanked today with two goals. "That is indeed a choice I made and we are trying to give that boy a lot of confidence above all. He used to sometimes make mistakes in the build-up and he will still make them, but he has to dare to make them. I am just a small link in a very competent staff and we just try to support our players as best we can in everything. So hopefully this is a great start for Onyedika."
Finally, it is clear that there will be no choice between the Jupiler Pro League or the UEFA Europa Conference League. "I'm definitely not going to make any grandstanding here now. We just have to see it step by step and match by match and then we'll see where we end up," concluded a satisfied and realistic interim coach. (TM)