A golden opportunity has turned into a particularly sour defeat for Antwerp. Instead of taking advantage of Genk’s (and Club Brugge’s) loss of points, Antwerp lost against a ten-man Charleroi. Antwerp thus hangs on 8 points from Genk.
Antwerp – Sporting Charleroi in a nutshell:
- Key moment: After barely fifteen minutes, Charleroi immediately scored at the first chance. On a pass from Zorgane, Badji unstoppably buffs the ball past Butez. A deadly goal for Antwerp, even though Butez watches idly for the rest of the game.
- Man of the match: A lack of efficiency and the absence of the injured Vincent Janssen played tricks on Antwerp, but The Great Old also collided with an excellent Hervé Koffi. He kept both Ekkelenkamp and Kerk from the equalizer.
- Remarkable: After nine games without a defeat, Antwerp knows what losing is again. The previous defeat was already two months ago, visiting Union. At home, Antwerp had not even lost since October 23, against Racing Genk.
- Track number: Charleroi is the bogeyman of Antwerp this season. It already won 1-0 in the first round in the Stade du Pays de Charleroi and now also takes the full spoils in the Bosuil Stadium with the smallest difference.
Efficient Charleroi puts a heel on Antwerp
The assignment was crystal clear for Antwerp: continue on the momentum and come within five points of leader Racing Genk. An early penalty might help, but despite unlucky hands from Tchatchoua after misses from Koffi, the home team didn’t get it.
After fifteen minutes, the assignment suddenly became a lot more difficult for The Great Old, which played Alderweireld and Janssen without injuries. Charleroi put a nice attack on the mat, Zorgane painted the ball on Badji’s head, who capitalized on the first chance for the visitors with a striking header.
Only after half an hour did Antwerp seem to have recovered from the shock. Balikwisha curled a place ball just wide and on his pass Ekkelenkamp decided from close range on Koffi. The Dutchman in turn offered Muja a huge chance for the equalizer, but the Kosovar aimed wide in one time.
Marcq’s exclusion does not harm Charleroi either
Janssen’s absence also made itself felt at Antwerp in the second half. Kerk had a great chance on a corner, but his volley went wild. A promising shot from Balikwisha was blocked by Marcq at the last minute.
The same Marcq was allowed to drain on the hour after two yellow cards in five minutes. Despite persistent pressure from Antwerp, with Muja as the driving force, Charleroi also held out with ten players.
Twenty minutes before the end, the visitors seemed to crack when Kerk came face to face with Koffi, but the Dutchman couldn’t get the ball past the goalkeeper. Balikwisha also failed to do so. Antwerp thus misses the chance to approach leader Racing Genk, Charleroi is doing an excellent job in the battle for the Europe Play-offs.
Van Bommel: “VAR moment sparks a lot of discussion”
- Mark van Bommel (trainer Antwerp): “We just did well today, except for one moment. If you see how many chances we create, you normally win this game. But if you don’t score yourself, you don’t win. In the first half there was that VAR moment that provokes a lot of discussion. If the VAR calls you off, then according to the rules there is a gross error on the part of the referee. It is about the interpretation of the VAR. That is with offside and with fouls. You think it’s a penalty and the referee doesn’t. Someone in the stands thinks it’s a penalty and someone on TV doesn’t. That discussion is always there. Only, if the VAR calls you to the side, it means that the referee has made a big mistake. Then you go look at the images and he decides that is not the case. That is why there is always discussion. ”
- Felice Mazzu (trainer Charleroi): “We didn’t create much, but we defended well. We only scored once, but we also kept a clean sheet. The mentality was excellent when we were down to eleven and extraordinary when we fell down to ten. I can recommend my team just congratulations. I remember the three points, our mentality. They really fought for it. To suffer like that and then win, that is also something magnificent. This is a victory for our supporters and for the board, who have had a hard time in the first part of the season.”
Charleroi will hold out with ten for the time being.
