A year ago, AA Gent immediately conceded a chip against Omonia Nicosia in its European opener, which meant that it was referred to the Conference League instead of the Europa League.
Then Ghent came out better. The first half was the big Gift Orban show, with the Nigerian taking just about every chance. The downside was that he could only score one of them.
Even after the break, Orban still managed to kill a huge chance. His teammates then took over his task to lead Zilina to the slaughter.
A strong playing Julien De Sart crowned his match with a nice free kick goal and Hugo Cuypers, top scorer in the Jupiler Pro League last season, scored 2 goals himself and also headed in from newcomer Tsuyhoshi Watanabe – who will soon score his first goal for Ghent. made – the 4-0 in goal.
In the meantime, there was a striking cameo appearance by Zilina’s Javorcek, who came on in the 64th minute, was shown a yellow card after 68 minutes and was allowed to take a shower after 73 minutes. Another substitute, Kapralik, also ruined goalkeeper Davy Roef’s clean sheet with a nice individual action.
That was ultimately just a footnote in the larger story. Trainer Hein Vanhaezebrouck will undoubtedly be satisfied with his team’s opener. Moreover, it can start the second leg in Slovakia as an extra exhibition match.
“This was a good first step”, coach Hein Vanhaezebrouck analyzed. “We needed a reconnaissance round, but after the 2-0 we left. My guys have proven they are ready.”
“A perfect start? Certainly,” added goal scorer Hugo Cuypers. “We couldn’t underestimate the opponent and we remained serious and patient.”
“We should have scored more in the first half and made up for it after the break. They came out even less and were under constant pressure.”
“There is experience in this group and we know there is no safety net, but we started well. Now we take it round by round.”
2023-07-27 21:22:04
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