“There remains something strange in their game”: Antwerp lacks a “control test” according to 90 minutes
Antwerp seems to be back again. After a dramatic first round, victories followed against Club Brugge, Genk and Ghent. It gave away a 2-0 lead against Anderlecht. “There is something magical in the air,” says Filip Joos in 90 minutes.
In one month, perception has completely changed in Antwerp. After the defeat against Dender on the last matchday of the first round, Stef Wils was fired and Joseph Oosting was appointed as a replacement.
And suddenly Antwerp started winning. Club Brugge, STVV in the Belgian Cup, Genk and Ghent were defeated. Anderlecht also seemed to be faced with the same scenario, although the Purple & White came back after a 2-0 deficit.
“It was a good, cool match because Antwerp is Antwerp again,” says Filip Joos in 90 minutes. “The stands have something to do with it, even now they are 2-0 ahead in the beginning. There is something magical in the air.”
“But Antwerp has no control test,” says Joos. “There remains something strange in that game. I enjoyed Dierckx. He plays really well. He is everywhere. And Janssen is doing well again and Kerk is top.”
According to Denis Odoi, that makes a big difference. “He has incredible qualities, especially if you play lower on the counter-attack. He is fast, strong and technically good. And every now and then he scores a goal.”
That was an example of genius without space.
Filip Joos
The most brilliant action of the entire weekend also came from Kerk, Joos told us about “that see-saw assist behind his supporting leg”. “To me that’s worth 10 assists and he has 0 now. That was an example of a genius without space, because there was no space.”
Wesley Sonck still sees an area for Church to work on. “When he gets tired, it suddenly becomes much less. It was sometimes brilliant in the first 60 minutes and then it is 2-0, but then those kinds of people are super important and that disappears.”
With Dennis Praet, a lot of experience came between the lines in the second half. “Praet tried to bring that control button when he came on,” Joos saw.
“But the fact that it is so noticeable with a substitute means that the rest do not have that. He has to pay attention, because in the stands they prefer to see Antwerp without control in many phases of the match. That is also nice to watch. That is the heart.”
“But a match lasts 90 minutes,” Sonck points out. “I think Oosting will work on that,” is Joos’s answer. “Then you cannot expect that to be there immediately. Al-Sahafi does not have that at all. They are all all-or-nothing players. I like to watch that. That is chaos and the so-called restrained football sense is not there.”
