Antwerp gave up a stunt in the injury time of a crazy match in Frankfurt (2-2). Shortly before that, Samatta had put The Great Old at 2-1 with a nice goal. Out in the cup and now also bye bye Europe, despite a nice point and a near-stunt victory. Antwerp leaves Frankfurt with his head held high, but all that remains is the competition. Sour, very sour.
One season is not the other. A year ago, Antwerp secured itself on the fifth group match day for the 1/16th finals, after a 3-1 win against Ludogorets. Hongla, De Laet and Benson then gave Ivan Leko and the Great Old the delirium. This time it is already out of the Europa League after five matches. Logical, because after the draw in Frankfurt it only counts two points. It sucks for Brian Priske and co, because even third place and the Conference League safety net are now out of reach.
The assignment was tough anyway. Antwerp had to win to have a chance in Europe. And that on the field of a disciplined German team, which, although lacking a top striker and missed captain Hinteregger, but had just won three victories in a row. To stunt, Priske opted for two strikers, but did not consider blind attacking an option. First the organization had to be there. He counted on three midfielders for that, as general manager Sven Jaecques had suggested in the newspaper. One of the three was Dwomoh. Beforehand, it was about inexperience that is sometimes punished, but the coach was happy to make an exception for the 17-year-old talent. As number ten, Fischer completed the check.
Volley Radja
In the reasonably filled Deutsche Bank Park, Paul Tierny was on duty. The Englishman already whistled a match for Frankfurt two years ago, which then won 0-5. Certainly after what happened to Club Brugge against Leipzig, such lump sum figures were out of the question. After twelve minutes, however, the first goal was already in the basket. Left back Vines, who had already made a mistake in Sint-Truiden, caused disorder with a bad pass and a sharp counter-prick from the home team. Chandler brought in, the released Kamada – coincidentally ex-STVV – finished. And say that Antwerp had started well and had won its share of the duels. But if you give away the goals so childishly…
The search for the equalizer announced itself heavily. No chances were created through the field game, but there were still the standing phases. A first corner from Fischer ended up at Frey’s feet via Dessoleil, who aimed for Trapp from close range. It was a fifteen minute wait for the second corner, but the execution made it worth the wait. While his teammates put pressure on the keeper, Nainggolan secretly – well – positioned himself on the edge of the box. Fischer then kicked the perfect ball, which Radja could put his heavy right against. His deviated volley and first Antwerp goal disappeared into the goal.
1-1, it gave the citizen and the 1,750 visiting fans courage. In the back, where Dessoleil replaced the slightly injured Engels, they did pay attention. Lindstrom had already aimed a good opportunity wide and on the stroke of half-time Borré came close to making it 2-1.
Plots chaos
Then the second half. A matter of holding on for a little longer and then going full for the win, surely? We didn’t get to see much at first, it was only the supporters who stole the show. In a negative way, yes. After the pyrotechnic material in the branch, a firecracker also ended up on the other side in front of the feet of Butez and Verstraete, who was shocked by accident and grabbed his ears. Fortunately he was able to continue, but in the meantime the chaos was complete.
No problem for Antwerp, that chaos was just right. And look: after a free kick from Fischer, De Laet suddenly appeared in front of Trapp and he was able to outwit him. The captain screamed out and was hugged to death by his mates, but… The VAR didn’t like that. He played for party pooper by having the 1-2 disallowed for offside. Well, what can we say? The difference between his shoulder and that of the defender was negligible and barely noticeable in the footage. It was millimeter work. Given the margin of error that is always there, you might even argue. But the line is the line. abseiss. Little Tor.
After a razor-sharp counter via Yusuf, nicely finished by a very strong Samatta, Antwerp was still able to cheer. But again the joy was short-lived. No video ref this time, but Paciencia’s ultimate equalizer. For a while a do-or-die match at home against Olympiacos still seemed possible, but it was the end of the Great Old in Europe.
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