After the satisfying victory against RWDM, Vrancken and his team went to Mambourg. Kayembe saw his strong substitute last week rewarded with a starting place against his former team. Furthermore, Vrancken retained confidence in the same starters.
First half
Charleroi is having a difficult season. The Zebras are in the midst of a relegation battle. A striking statistic taught us before the start of the match that Charleroi scored 21 of the 25 points achieved at home. It was clear in advance that it would not be a walk on Mambourg. Bonsu immediately lit the fuse, with a warm-up for Koffi. On the other side, Petris tested Vandevoordt. After the study round, our boys pushed the home team back. But the condition of the field prevented us from making it a fluid match. Bonsu tried from distance and Bilal had a nice place ball in mind, but twice the home goalie was right. The home team barely did anything in return. They were able to threaten once in the transition through Bernier, but Vandevoordt was alert. So we went to the locker room with a score.
Second half
During the second period we got the same game image as during the first period. Although Genk’s dominance now led to opportunities. After a good steal from Bilal, Patje and another strong Tolu set up a long drawn-out one-two. Koffi kept his net clean with an ultimate reflex. Moments later, Vandevoordt dropped a kick on the head of our strong Nigerian striker who put it back to Bilal. His attempt exploded onto the post. It was really only a matter of time before the ball flew in. Having recently come on, Sor squeezed in on a cross from El Ouahdi for his direct opponent to score the well-deserved 0-1. The home team, until then invisible in the second half, responded immediately. But Vandevoordt parried Marcq’s kick with a cat-like reflex. In the last ten minutes, Tolu had the opportunity to reward his strong game with a goal. Good control in the box, turning and then shooting. His attempt flew a meter wide of Koffi’s cage. Charleroi couldn’t figure it out. This brings us back into the top 6 again. Now we are confidently aiming for the top match against Club Brugge. Forza Racing!
Wouter Vrancken: “In the first half I saw a lot of good will, but it just didn’t work out in the zone of truth. In the second half we were able to create more freedom. We also saw many more good runs and infiltrations. This gave us more opportunities and we were able to achieve this deserved victory.”
Line-up
Vandevoordt, Kayembe (’83 Sobol), McKenzie, Cuesta, El Ouahdi, Hrosovsky, Heynen, El Khannouss, Oyen (’71 Sor), Tolu, Bonsu Baah.
Goals
’71 0-1 Sor