Jupiler Pro League – matchday 21 – 18/01/26 – 16:01
| time | icon | player | homeTime | homeIcon | homePlayer | score | awayPlayer | awayIcon | awayTime |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| goal door Roman Kvet at 32′, 1 – 0 |
Can Dender call itself the black beast of Antwerp? For the second time in two months, the bottom team won against The Great Old: 1-0 thanks to Kvet. A golden three-pointer for Dender, which comes within 4 points of Cercle. At Antwerp it is the first defeat under Joseph Oosting.
Dender – Antwerp in a nutshell
- Key moment
We could only score one big chance in 90 minutes, but that was enough for Dender. Antwerp completely misses a throw-in from Marijnissen. Roman Kvet likes to see it happen and scores the only goal of the match after just over half an hour.
- Man of the match
He never stands out, but Kobe Cools played a very strong match. Dender crawled back after the 1-0 and the captain was invaluable in that defensive stability. He and Bryan Goncalves formed an excellent duo at the back.
- Remarkable
It is only the third win of the season for Dender, but two of them were against Antwerp. In the first round that cost Stef Wils’ head, now it is the first defeat for new Antwerp coach Joseph Oosting.
- Statistics
The contrast between Antwerp at home and Antwerp away remains great. Outdoors it barely scored 9 out of 30 this season, which is a bit too little if you want to compete for a spot in the top 6.
Unrecognizable Antwerp
They call that a collective off day. After a series of 7 wins in a row, Antwerp once again knows what losing is like after a match in which it created almost no chances.
It could show very little – or say nothing – against Dender. The red lantern was on the agenda, although it mainly consisted of blocked shots.
The 1-0 did not come out of the blue. Antwerp defended dramatically at a Dender throw-in and Roman Kvet took advantage of this. He knocked Nozawa down with a low shot.
The sun set in Denderleeuw, but it was mainly Antwerp that went down. Only in the final quarter did the tempo increase and put Dender under pressure, but Antwerp could not compete with the low line.
Man-in-form Gyrano Kerk was a shadow of himself and Vincent Janssen kicked the ball sky high. Dender also missed half chances, but won. Only for the first time this season does it keep the points at home.
For Antwerp it is the first defeat since the end of November. It sees AA Gent jump to sixth place.
Dender celebrates the only goal of the match.
“We were bad today”
Joseph Oosting (Antwerp coach): “It was a bad day, if you see where we come from. The circumstances are different here, but that is no excuse. Wherever we play, we have to create chances. Today we almost didn’t create any.”
“We hardly gave away any chances, except for one through a throw-in. That was a miscommunication. We were bad today. After half-time we played with a different formation, but we didn’t get there. It was an off day. I expected more from my boys.”
Hey Milkon (trainer Dender): “We achieved this ourselves, with the right mentality. The will to win was evident from the first second. I am extremely satisfied with this. Hopefully we can once again build on this positive feeling.”
“Showing grit, that is the basis of everything. You have to win duels. There was a huge disappointment after the cup elimination, but I know we can do it and we showed that today. But it could be different in a few weeks, I am not blind to this. I have a goal in terms of points and hopefully that will be enough.”
“Failed” and “business”
Daam Foulon (Antwerp): “We came for the win, but we didn’t succeed. We failed in that. When you come from a good series, you want to continue it for as long as possible. Everywhere on the field it was ‘just not’. We miss grinta, but also quality.”
Luc Marijnissen (Dender): “In the first minutes we were still under pressure. In the end they did not create very dangerous opportunities. We were just businesslike and mature. We knew that there was space at the back of the defense. We used it very well, such as with the goal. It is wonderful to get the first home win. The relief was great.”
END: 1-0
Dender pulls off a stunt with a 1-0 win against Antwerp. The red lantern kept the visitors under control, although it was mainly Antwerp that disappointed. The unbeaten streak of 7 matches without defeat is over for the Great Old, which also loses for the first time under coach Joseph Oosting.
Dender escapes
Dender is still shaking. Foulon runs like crazy on the left flank and crosses, but Cools clears with his knee. Was this the last chance for Antwerp?
Verstraeten is a bright spot on this dark day for Antwerp. He has come in well, but with his through pass he just doesn’t find Vandeplas.
6 minutes left
It is five to twelve in Antwerp. Dender has brought two more freshmen onto the field with Rodes and Jahanbakhsh. Will the red lantern achieve its 3rd victory of the season here?
An extra 6 minutes will be added.
Antwerp loses the ball too often and loses the flow for a while. Dender is now trying to keep up, with a nice move from Bruny Nsimba.
There was more to this
For once no low block by Dender due to a failed one, so a golden opportunity for Antwerp to create danger. That doesn’t work, because Cools wins a duel in the box against Kerk.
The final phase starts with Babadi (for Somers) as the fifth substitute. Dender also changes, with Berte replacing Toshevski.
It is gradually sink or sink for Dender. Antwerp is starting its final offensive and there is still something to it. It wants to avoid losing against the red lantern for the second time this season.
Goncalves of gold value
Antwerp continues to grow. A cross from Foulon goes towards Vandeplas at the far post, but Bryan Goncalves intervenes just in time and kicks the ball away.
Ferraro cannot continue, so Hayk Milkon has to intervene for the first time. Moutha-Sebtaoui is Ferraro’s replacement.
Antwerp increases the pace and then some panic arises at Dender. Somers crosses low, but the ball goes straight into the hands of goalkeeper Gallon.
