Club Brugge takes home the three points after a crazy closing Achter de Kazerne. Read some post-match reactions from Hans Vanaken and Nicky Hayen below.
Hans Vanaken: "Confidence and a touch of luck."
Club won with the smallest difference at KV Mechelen, but in the second half it was pump or sink. Only very deep into extra time Joel Ordóñez headed in the 1-2. Hans Vanaken was clearly satisfied afterwards with Blauw-Zwart's narrow victory.
"It came down to taking that last free kick well and for us to run in well. Max (De Cuyper) brought the ball perfectly into the Mechelen sixteen and Joel (Ordóñez) headed it in rock hard and that's how we were able to win at Mechelen 1-2 after all," was the description of captain Hans Vanaken's winning goal.
"After their late equalizer in the 95 minute it maybe didn't look like we could still win here, but so you see what confidence and a touch of luck can do. I think we actually should have scored the 0-1 in the opening minute, but after that we were boss without creating any real big chances, but then with a penalty we came out ahead 0-1 just before halftime. In the second half we had less ball possession and fewer chances. Actually it was a game with few opportunities on both sides but you certainly don't hear me complaining, on the contrary."
"Of course it's nice for the statistics that we are now going a series of ten games without a loss, but that's all it is. We do feel that we are in a good flow, like in the playoffs last season where everything was a bit of a fluke, but rather like this than otherwise of course. We are a team that always tries to win and we want to continue that line now until New Year's to rest a bit then. Of course we know that until then we still have to play some very important duels like next Tuesday at home against Sporting Lisbon for the Champions League, which we hope to win again."
Nicky Hayen: "Not deserved, but no less pleasant for that"
Club Brugge crawled through the eye of the needle against KV Mechelen. Blauw-Zwart had to allow the equalizer in injury time, but were still able to snatch victory in the absolute final seconds. "I think the first action of the match was also immediately the best," said Nicky Hayen.
"It was an unmissable chance that allowed us to take the lead after just one minute. Football-wise we were quite nice in the first half. The game went back and forth well, without many outstanding chances on either side. We then got a penalty just before halftime, which gave us a flattered lead at that point. In the second half, however, we completely sank into the game. It was KV Mechelen that dominated and found the free man, pushing us backwards. Then we adjusted our system to restore the balance. But instead of defending forward, we kept creeping backwards and then you just sit and wait for that goal to fall. Which, at that point, was also over-deserved for KV Mechelen. Then you might be satisfied that you could leave here with a point, but at that last free kick you try to go for it. It goes in and you take the unexpected three points. It was totally undeserved, but that doesn't make it any less pleasant."
"We knew this was a very treacherous away game. Sometimes you also have to be satisfied with a win after a very ugly game. Does this give confidence toward the Champions League based on the level of play? No, but this victory obviously gives a mental boost. Now it comes down to recovering as much as possible and getting the guys fresh again. Some players started on the bench today, because you have to look at load management and you don't want to overload the players. Then you have to try to make the right choices. Right now that's working out pretty well. The results speak in our favor, regardless of today's level of play. On Tuesday, we'll take another look at who is the freshest."