Gent won 4-1 against Vikingur, a club from the Faroe Islands, on Thursday in the first leg of the second preliminary round of the Conference League. The goals for Gent were scored by Hong (twice), Kums and de Sart.
Facing their modest opponent, the Faroe Islands vice-champion, La Gantoise had a complicated start to the match. In the 2nd minute, the Nordiques opened the scoring, but the referee immediately cancelled it for a foul in the penalty area. A warning that the Buffalos did not take seriously since ten minutes later, Vikingur opened the scoring for good. Taking advantage of a mix-up in the penalty area, Nielsen sent the ball into the back of Roef’s net and stunned the Planet Group Arena (13th, 0-1).
From there, Ghent began to raise their level of play and managed to get back into the game. A poorly managed ball by the Vikingur defence allowed Hong to score (24th, 1-1). Wouter Vrancken’s men, who was officiating his first official match, continued to push, but the opposing defence held firm.
Until the 59th minute when a great combination between Kums and Hong allowed the captain, with a sure flat foot, to put La Gantoise in front. From then on, Vikingur could no longer find the resources to get out and gradually sank. Julien de Sart, announced on the start, took advantage of a penalty to make the score heavier (68th minute, 3-1) before Hong scored twice after taking advantage of a mistake by the goalkeeper. On a banal aerial ball, the latter clumsily released the leather in front of the South Korean who only had to push it into the back of the net.
With this solid victory, La Gantoise takes a good option for its qualification. It will play its return match next week, Thursday August 1, at Vikingur (7:45 p.m.).
