Five out of fifteen became six out of eighteen for KRC Genk. On the field of a virile Cercle Brugge, the leader got stuck on a draw (1-1), after a substandard first half, Paintsil deservedly equalized after the break.
With, as expected, Sadick replacing the suspended Cuesta, KRC Genk was impressed from minute one by Cercle’s kamikaze football. The visitors did assert themselves in the countless duels in the initial phase, but lost control of the match too quickly due to a lack of footballing solutions. Arteaga broke twice under the Bruges pressing, but the home team showed too little rest in front of goal to punish the loss of the ball.
Ueda on the pole
The tone was set for a particularly difficult first half, in which the leader never found El Khannouss between the lines and therefore did not get to play football. It caused unrest in the ranks, as witnessed by a rash pass from Paintsil into Ueda’s feet. The Japanese did not wait to shoot with the left, Vandevoordt saw the icicle hit the post.
Racing needed quick ball and flank changes to break Cercle’s pressure. It only succeeded sporadically via a deviation from Samatta, which gave Paintsil and Trésor plenty of space on the flank. But especially the just-not-Red Devil, against his habit, never found a teammate in front of goal.
Ueda hits the mark
The home team could also rarely threaten in a mediocre match. Until the extremely dangerous Ueda treated Genk to an ice-cold shower five minutes before the break. For once Cercle switched precisely and efficiently, Gboho found the sprinting Ueda with a tight pass between Sadick and McKenzie, who mercilessly pulled the trigger face to face with Vandevoordt: 1-0.
Foto: Isosport
With a (half) shooting chance for Samatta within sixty seconds, Racing came out of the locker room excited. The much sharper visitors resolutely took matters into their own hands and would soon be rewarded for doing so.
Paintsil equalizes
Blow after turn, the leader found the space on the right. Twice a tireless Samatta was released, but the first pan-ready assist was still kicked by Paintsil against the leg of the returning Popovic and the second backward pass ended up in no man’s land. The third, as so often, was the good time: Samatta gave the ball to Paintsil, who scored very opportunistically and untenably over the corner: 1-1.
Genk wanted to go on and on, but at the same time had to watch out for the counter. The inevitable Ueda got a little too much space from McKenzie but saw his place ball go wide.
Foto: Isosport
No final offensive
Fifteen minutes before the end, Wouter Vrancken threw the Ouattara-Sor duo into battle. El Khannouss immediately offered Sor a great chance, but the attacker decided to slack on Warleson. It was not the expected start of a Genk final offensive, on the contrary Cercle went full for the three points and claimed a late penalty after a strong intervention by Munoz.
The substitute Preciado still surprised after Warleson in the short corner, but the third draw in five games was a correct reflection of the game image. Union can approach up to three points on Sunday.
Circle Bruges: Warleson; Popovic, Ravych, Daland; Siquet, Abu Francis (85′ Vanhoutte), Van der Bruggen, Deman; Somers, Gboho, (71′ Hotic) Ueda (90′ Miangue)
Racing Genk: Vandevoordt; Munoz, Sadick, Mc Kenzie, Arteaga; Paintsil, Heynen, Hrosovskyi (78′ Ouattara), El Khanouss, Trésor (90′ Preciado); Samatta (78′ Sor)
goals: 41′ Ueda (Gboho) 1-0, 54′ Paintsil (Samatta) 1-1
Yellow cards: 73′ Munoz (fault), 77′ Abu Francis (fault), 88′ Daland (protest)
Red cards: no
Referee: Jonathan Lardot
Spectators: 4787
