READ ALSO. COMMENTARY. “This was too much for Beerschot”
“We deserved a victory”, sighed the beaten Beerschot goalkeeper Bill Lathouwers. “At certain times we played Beveren away and they did nothing more than throw long balls. We played football and attractive throughout the match. It is a pity that despite our good performance we still lose.”
Flying start
If Beerschot wants to continue to play a significant role, it must happen in the mutual duels with RWDM and Beveren. Coach Wieland had already predicted an intense battle before kick-off and was right. His team – with a four-man defense and a lot of drive forward – set the tone from the first minute.
Top scorer Baeten unsurprisingly created the greatest opportunities. His last goal in the Olympic Stadium dates back to mid-November, so the hunger is extra great. First he put goalkeeper Reus to the test, later he couldn’t hit the ball with a header and a volley. Sebaoui was also looking forward to it, but three deep through passes to him always pushed too far on the soaking wet field.
Only after more than fifteen minutes did Beveren find some breathing space and opportunities also arose on the other side. Goalkeeper Lathouwers – third choice at Beveren until last season – showed an excellent save against an attempt by Mbokani against his ex-team. Fortunately, because the striker was offside, but the line judge had not seen that. Discussion avoided. With the break in sight, Matthys breathed a sigh of relief that the same Mbokani could not take advantage of his missed kick. Nsimba still made the nets vibrate, but – rightly so – there was already a flag for offside.
No red
Halfway through the second half, there was cause for discussion. Everton tackled Thorisson from behind with scissors. Red card at first sight, but ref Erik Lambrechts didn’t give it. “I saw the referee grab his back pocket and then he still shows yellow. That’s impossible? Mistakes that have resulted in a red card in recent weeks, such as Van Damme at Beveren or Vekemans against us at Lierse, were not that serious. It was pure scissors from behind. Unfortunately, we cannot control such a thing ourselves”, Lathouwers was dissatisfied.
Beerschot nevertheless continued to dictate the pace. It also decorated most and best chances in the second half, but goalkeeper Reus was unyielding. Both Verlinden and Baeten couldn’t get past it despite great efforts. Van den Bergh then headed on the roof of the goal.
Sledge hammer blow
A spectacle score seemed in the making, until the winning goal fell in the 88th minute. Substitute Ribeiro kicked in a corner, the tall Vukotic headed in and exploded the sold-out away section with 600 Beveren fans: 0-1. Too late for an answer from Beerschot, which received a huge blow. The gap is now seven points and that seems to be too much to bridge with just as many matches. In all likelihood, RWDM and Beveren, for the time being together in the leading position, will fight for promotion.
Lathouwers, who only conceded his first goal in these play-offs after just under three games, wanted to end on a positive note. “Of course it would have been nice to keep a clean sheet again, because then we would certainly have taken at least a point. It was certainly deserved. If we play like this every game, we will definitely get points. I refuse to say it’s over. It’s never over. As long as it is still possible, we will continue to believe in it.”
READ ALSO. OUR JUDGMENT. Lathouwers strong holder at Beerschot, otherwise no outliers
