In a very difficult and nervous match, conditions quickly turned bad for Hasselt. Patron in midfield Niels Verburgh dropped out with a serious knee injury. Defender Timo Cauwenberg also had to stop the fight before half time. It forced coach Sroka to make the necessary rearrangements. Hasselt acted nervously and rarely got around to playing football. Ninove took command after the break and Romero immediately missed an opportunity. Seven minutes later it was all hands on deck again at Hasselt. Bael could only attack Ghijsens, but Kroonen stole the ball from him just in time. How long was this going to last?
Niels Verburgh suffered a serious knee injury early in the game. — © Dick Demey
Delirium in slot
When Rau had to pull the emergency brake fifteen minutes before the end after Bael’s breakthrough, Hasselt was reduced to ten. “We will need the support of the Heilig Paterke to make this go well,” said the Hasselt fans in the stands. And incredibly, the stunt came in the final minutes. During a rare Hasselt attack, Kiki was incorrectly stopped at the edge of the large rectangle. And Vanrafelghem himself kicked the free kick masterfully into the far corner. The Municipal Sports Stadium exploded. It was sink or sink in the final minutes for Hasselt, but ‘De Spor’ held on.
Promotion?
The first step towards promotion has been taken. Although with the licensing stories of Ostend and Patro it is still not clear whether this victory is enough for promotion. “But we are still hopeful that it will be in,” said goalscorer Kiki Vanrafelghem after the game. “It was incredibly difficult today. Everything went against us with those injuries. And then you fall with ten and a few players who were still playing football on one leg. But we have shown incredible mental toughness. My goal? I felt good and wanted to pedal. The joy afterwards was indescribable,” concluded the Hasselt hero of the evening.
Kiki was once again the great Hasselt hero. — © Dick Demey
SP.HASSELT: Ghijsens, Braeken, Cauwenberg (38′ Cuypers), Rau, Jacobs, Verburgh (16′ Huygen), Van Bommel, La Mantia, Kroonen, Orye, Vanrafelghem (89′ Lenaerts)
NINOVE: Van den Noortgaete, Polizzi (85′ Boulez), Hezrtveldt, De Geyndt, Romero Gomez, Mariën, Dibola (85′ Emhandi), Bourguignon, Chirisingu, Bael (90′ Ileka), Matarreze.
GOAL: 86′ Vanrafelghem 1-0.
YELLOW CARDS: Kroonen, Braeken, Emhandi, Vanrafelghem.
RED CARD: 76′ Rau.
REFEREE: Stove
SPECTATOR: 2500.
2024-05-11 21:45:26
#Kiki #blasts #Spor #national #promotional #party #started #Hasselt #Hasselt
