Jupiler Pro League – matchday 22 – 26/01/24 – 20:46
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79′
Marlon Fossey
0 – 1
Marlon Fossey
79′
88′
Thibo Somers
88′
Thibo Somers
1 – 1
The opener of the 22nd matchday between Cercle Brugge and Standard did not produce a winner. For a long time it was a festival of wrong passes, misunderstandings and a lot of fighting. With two goals in the final quarter, at a standstill, there was little sting in the tail of the game.
Cercle Brugge – Standard in a nutshell
Man of the match: Wilfried Kanga did not score today, but was extra active. Being big, strong and fast is what was expected of him and what he brought. We feel bad for Popovic, Utkus and Daland, who certainly had their hands full with the Ivorian.
Striking: Standard is having a hard time winning. For the last three-pointer of the Rouches we have to go back to November 25, to the 1-0 against Racing Genk.
Key moment: Then Thibo Somers’ equalizer. It was a match that did not deserve a winner, Somers’ header ensured that balance on the scoreboard.
Too few
Cercle and Standard both earned more than what they got last weekend. A series of great opportunities remained unfinished for both teams, resulting in a loss of points. Few goals today, but even more poignant: hardly any chances.
Eight minutes into the first half, Fossey put Warleson to work for the first, and unfortunately last, time. Afterwards it was mainly fighting, fighting and toughness. Creativity and fun were silenced by muscle power and fear of loss.
Denkey seemed to score a penalty after a late bite from Noubi, just inside the box. On second thought, it bit just in time. Lardot, who first whistled the penalty, was corrected by the VAR and moved the ball from the spot to the edge of the rectangle.
The cynical among us gloated about ‘replay’ after the VAR intervention. We do not. We wouldn’t dare.
Marlon Fossey celebrates his opening goal in an acrobatic manner.
Corners decide
After the break, Cercle was a bit more active, with Somers finding someone central on the right twice. Furthermore, fighting continued to take precedence over football. For Standard, Djenepo was the strongest man on the field, but he was no longer able to do more than a dribble or two.
It was all a prelude to a crazy (well) ending. Substitute Price whipped the ball hard in front of goal on a corner, after which Fossey, after Kanga’s header, worked the ball in via the crossbar.
Signal for Cercle to send everything forward, and two minutes before the end it delivered. Somers, who had also had a great match, was left alone by Balikwisha and was able to head past the hopeless Bodart.
It cost a lot of sweat, and in the case of Bope Bokadi, blood and tears from the spectators, but Cercle and Standard return home with one point each. That is especially bad for Standard, which can see the bottom of the rankings approaching in the coming days. Cercle seems to be in danger of losing touch with the top 6.
An extra shame for Standard: a few minutes before the end, Vanheusden had to leave with pain in his knee. As long as that’s not too bad.
Miron Muslic (Cercle Brugge): “We are partly disappointed today, because it was a mediocre match for both teams. A Friday evening deserves more than this draw. The goal we conceded is terrible. After the equalizer, we did everything we could to We could still score, but we didn’t deserve that tonight. We were sloppy, but Standard also kicked everything long to Kanga. Fair play, that’s allowed, but I think both teams can do better.”
Ivan Leko (Standard): “I told the boys that we must respect the point. As we expected in advance, it was an intensive match. But the boys were disappointed, especially when you are ahead and control the match. We were able to help Cercle with our defensive structure. I didn’t see a big chance from them after the 0-1, so we felt like we could win today. But that’s football, we have to learn from this. But one point is certain in our situation not bad.”
Phase by phase
Hot ending for a lukewarm match
After more than 103 minutes of football, it’s over in Bruges. Cercle and Standard turned it into an absolute brawl, which made it difficult to watch for 75 minutes. Two corners determined the match, which resulted in an equitable division of points after goals from Fossey and Somers.
Last free kick
Van Der Bruggen makes a mistake, centrally, on Price. He is allowed to take the free kick, but his kick is not good enough.
The absolute final phase begins, with Bodart taking his time to kick out. Do we get anything else?
It’s strong
And there goes Kanga for the umpteenth time this match, with Lemarechal as a backpack. Like the lump of granite that he is, he can keep up with the ball and even reach the Dewaele who came along. He just can’t kick, the corner for Standard leads to nothing.
Kazeem Olaigbe is too fast for Fossey, who has to make a mistake to stop the youngster. Lardot doesn’t think so, but a phase later Cercle still gets a free kick. No chance for green-black, however.
6 – extra time
An extra 6 minutes will be added.
Somers saves a point for Cercle Brugge in the end.
Not done
Cercle has smelled blood and overwhelms Bokadi at the back. With three against one things can happen quickly for the home team, but Noubi can still score. Six minutes will also be added to this half.
Captain Somers for Cercle
We even get a second goal! It’s at a stagnant stage again, but hey, in is in. Somers, completely released by Balikwisha, is allowed to head the ball in. Bodart can never see that ball in time. The signs hang immediately and Cercle wants more!
Two new victims of the fighting: Djenepo and Van Der Bruggen punched each other in the air. Once again the caregivers enter the field with a sponge and spray. Immediately end of game for Djenepo.
Offside
What a goal can do. Suddenly Standard has self-confidence, Djenepo helps Balikwisha to a 1-on-1 with Bodart. He can save, but Balikwisha was also offside.
Djenepo, normally gifted with fine technique, leaves out the beautiful football. Kicking hard and far is now good enough.