What a trainer can suffer. Eupen seemed to pocket the three points with ease at the Gaverbeek. Defensive fumbling with the home team was however insufficiently punished by the Pandas. When Essevee suddenly even took the lead in an insane final quarter, Eupen could count themselves very lucky that they could get a point deep in the added time.
Mbaye Leye is a philosophical man. Even after a game that was full of drama, the coach of Zulte Waregem managed to analyze the game very calmly and without emotion. Especially the poor performance of his team before half-time was discussed in detail: “Before half-time, just like in Mechelen, we were not in the match at all,” admitted Leye humbly.
keep fighting
“Luckily we showed a good reaction after the break. Then you saw a team that wanted to fight”, the Essevee coach rightly saw a lot of parallels with the match in Mechelen. “I have to congratulate my players. I see other teams lose because they totally fail to come back in a match. We will continue to fight and we will often contest such matches this season. Still, it is of course sour to hand over the victory when you are suddenly 5-4 ahead…” (Read more below the photo)
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A deep sigh later, Leye seemed over the top disappointment again. Or not: “5-4 or 5-5 is a world of difference. We could finally stand safely again and jump over Eupen. When you make so many mistakes, that’s not possible. We already count 40 goals against, but if you ask us this in the dressing room now, most guys don’t know that. Well, if they take 100 but manage to save themselves at the end of the ride, then it doesn’t matter, does it.”
“We will still make mistakes”
It is symptomatic of the balancing act that Mbaye Leye has been performing at the Gaverbeek for several months now. Leye turns 40 next month, but he talks with the calmness of a coach who’s been on the bench for 30 years. “I’ve gained ten experience in the past two years,” he says with a wink, but even the ever optimistic Senegalese realizes that his team has a hell of a job waiting to achieve retention in the Jupiler Pro League.
“When you see Eupen’s first goal, unimaginable, isn’t it? We are ready with two defenders to intervene and yet it is hit”, there was a moment of despair in Leye’s voice, who immediately pulled himself together. “Psychology is important in professional football. My defense is so young and we will still make mistakes, we realize that.”
That is why Leye again firmly refused to turn off boys: “Lukas Willen is 19 years old and did excellent in recent weeks, but it was less against Eupen. He also realizes that he made a mistake on that third goal against. So I don’t let a boy like that fall. He now has to enjoy the leave and then get back to work. It will have to happen with ups and downs. This was a chaotic match, but believe me: this season’s Zulte Waregem will still play there.”
