Again no victory for Anderlecht. Against KV Kortrijk, a disappointing Purple & White got no further than a draw. Gueye gave the visitors the lead, shortly after the break Magallán forced the 1-1. Anderlecht then shot themselves in the foot due to a stupid red card from Raman. And so the welcome boost for Vincent Kompany again failed to materialize. After the final whistle, a deafening flute concert was heard.
Anderlecht – Kortrijk in short
- Key moment: Anderlecht start the second half with a series of chances and the equalizer, but lose their lead again due to the exclusion of Raman. From then on, the match will end in a draw.
- Man of the Match: Selemani’s dribbling and tricks often drove his guards to despair. With a shot against the hand of Van Crombrugge and earlier that of Mikhailitchenko (wasn’t that a penalty?), the Comoron man came close to the decision twice.
- Remarkable: “In youth we trust.” Much did not survive this afternoon of the purple and white slogan. Not a single player from their own training in Neerpede was kicking off against KVK. That was back in February 2012.
Gueye heads robust Kortrijk to 0-1
At Anderlecht, Kompany had used the international break to refine his line-up. He switched to a 4-3-3 and chose Magallan in the back, for the first time in the starting lineup, and Mikhailitchenko as new names. Higher in the field, Ashimeru and Raman joined the team. Kortrijk coach Belhocine welcomed captain D’Haene back.
The other field occupation did not immediately trigger sparkling football. It was a sluggish initial phase, with Anderlecht that the drilled organization of Kortrijk could not instill fear at any time. The game mainly took place in midfield, with only sporadic chances. Sainsbury was hindered by teammate Vandendriessche and on the other side a bicycle kick by Kouamé failed.
The breakthrough came quite unexpectedly. Gueye cleverly sneaked into Magallan’s back and made it 0-1 with a diving cross-corner header. The Lotto Park heaved a bored sigh at the umpteenth setback. Purple & White’s answer disappointed. A deviated shot from Zirkzee was the only anxious moment for KVK goalkeeper Ilic.
Red Raman slows down Anderlecht’s offensive
At Anderlecht they realized that it had to be better in the second half. The home side came out of the dressing room white hot and after a few minutes Sainsbury had kicked his own crossbar and Ilic had saved the breakthrough Raman from a goal. The pressure continued and eventually resulted in the equalizing goal. After mistaking Ilic, Magallan hit the target with some difficulty.
Up and over, the home supporters hoped, but Anderlecht’s rhythm was soon broken. Raman was caught by challenging Selemani and made an aggressive move. Selemani fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes and after an intervention by the VAR, referee Smet sent Raman to the dressing room. A stupid, but also fairly cheap red card. It was not the only controversial phase, because in both rectangles another ball flew against an outstretched arm.
It was only in the final phase that we saw some danger again. In the last ten minutes it was Anderlecht that claimed the victory with a solo by Zirkzee and a slider by Verschaeren. Only in the added time did Kortrijk push harder with a man. Alioui and Mbayo almost counterattacked to the 1-2 and Van Crombrugge had to hit a brushed place ball from Selemani from the square.
Anderlecht continues to be in the position on the spot. With a sixth draw in eight games (and a meager 9 out of 24), the Purple & White is not one step closer to the top four.
Cullen: “We have to win, it’s that simple”
Disappointment afterwards at Josh Cullen. “Obviously I’m disappointed. We have to win matches, it’s that simple. The feelings that dominate me are disappointment and frustration.”
The red card was the tipping point today. “We scored that goal, were in the match again and were the better team. I have not seen it myself. Of course something like that does not help, but you win and lose as a team. We also had chances with ten men and we were able to free them.” We just didn’t find that goal,” said the Irish midfielder of Anderlecht.
Why is it so difficult for the Purple & White to win? “I wish I could answer that. One win out of eight is not good enough for this club. As players we have to take our responsibility, keep working hard and get those three points next week.”
Sainsbury: “You have to keep the balance”
Trent Sainsbury was in two minds. “If you had offered us a point before the game, we would have taken it. But with that red card we might have had to pick up more. Of course they also had a few good opportunities. All in all it’s a fair point.”
“I don’t think we showed enough offensively to really win the game,” the Australian defender was honest. “But Anderlecht have good players and are always dangerous. You have to keep the balance. We are very proud of our defense this season. Last year it was a bit sloppy.”
Goalkeeper Ilic was wrong with the 1-1. “I’m not going to say anything about that. He’s saved us many times. I’m going to let him get away with this,” Sainsbury laughed. “That’s part of life, part of football.”
