Cercle Brugge secured their first victory of the Jupiler Pro League season by defeating Royal Antwerp FC 2–1, according to match reports published by Cercle Brugge. The breakthrough result at Jan Breydel Stadium lifted the club out of 18th place and off the bottom of the table, handing the last-place position to KV Kortrijk while moving level on points with OH Leuven.
Akinsola Strikes Twice to Break the Duck
The hosts opened the scoring immediately after the interval when Hannes Van Der Bruggen intercepted a ball in midfield and fed Malamine Ngoura, who shifted the play to Tunde Akinsola on the right wing. Akinsola cut inside and placed a shot into the far corner for his first competitive goal of the season, as detailed in match coverage from Cercle Brugge. Antwerp struggled to find a response as the home side dominated duels and dictated the tempo. Just past the hour mark, Cercle doubled their advantage when Ngoura trapped a pass inside the penalty area, spun away from his marker, and squared the ball to the back post for Akinsola to tap in his second goal of the afternoon.
2-0 I Steve draait knap weg van zijn belager en schotelt Tunde zijn tweede van de namiddag voor. Leve Cercle! 💚🖤 #CERANT pic.twitter.com/psJHEjScNp
Late Drama and Defensive Resistance
Antwerp applied sustained pressure in the closing stages, forcing Cercle to defend deep into stoppage time. Substitute Modibo Fofana pulled a goal back in the 81st minute, as reported by Sporza. With seven minutes of added time signaled by the officials, Cercle withstood late attempts from Michael Frey, whose 93rd-minute chest control and volley flew a meter and a half wide of the post. Sporza noted that Cercle survived a critical moment just before halftime when defender Kondo cleared a dangerous rebound off the goalline after doyen Maxime Coucke denied Snayder Porozo.
Standings and Relegation Implications
The 2–1 scoreline ended a winless start for the Groen-Zwart and pushed their tally to a level footing with OH Leuven near the foot of the standings. Antwerp’s defeat compounds a difficult run of form, leaving the visitors with just 4 points from their last 21 available, according to Sporza’s match analysis. VoetbalPrimeur.be noted that late VAR reviews added to the tension when referee Simon Bourdeaud’hui overturned an initial yellow card shown to Rein Van Helden after video replays confirmed no foul had been committed on Viggo Martens during a late breakaway.
1-0 I Tunde snijdt naar binnen en mikt raak in de korte hoek. Cmon Cercle!! 💚🖤 pic.twitter.com/yjcPXOROia
Managerial Reaction
Cercle Brugge head coach Lars Friis acknowledged the significance of the result while emphasizing the need for continued improvement. This feels very good, finally, because we have been very close already,
Friis told Sporza after the match. It was a deserved victory, I think. It must be the first of many matches that we have to win.
Next Fixture
Cercle Brugge travels to face RAAL La Louvière next week in a crucial fixture at the bottom of the table, while Royal Antwerp FC prepares for their next league assignment.
Match Statistics and Substitutions
The fixture saw tactical changes from both benches, beginning with Tayo Adaramola replacing Gary Magnée at the 13th minute, followed by Christopher Scott taking over from Thibo Somers in the 21st minute. Bookings were handed out to Carlos Mejia in the 30th minute and Snayder Porozo in the 38th minute. Further changes occurred after the break, with Michael Frey and Youssef Hamdaoui replacing Snayder Porozo and Ibrahim Salah respectively in the 63rd minute. Álvaro Cortés received a yellow card in the 67th minute before Viggo Martens, Lukas Mondele, and Lucas Michal entered the pitch in the 71st minute for Tunde Akinsola, Abdoulie Manneh, and Erick. Modibo Fofana and Yuto Tsunashima then replaced Carlos Mejia and Daam Foulon in the 74th minute, with Tsunashima collecting a yellow card in the 79th minute.
Worth a look
