Belgian Pro League Matchweek 14 Review | OneFootball

The last match week before the final international break took place in the Belgian Pro League this past weekend. Dender were still searching for their first win, while Club Brugge were looking to follow up their impressive draw against Barcelona with a win over rivals Anderlecht.

Friday night: Dender remain winless

Will Dender ever win a game? The fans will certainly be asking themselves this. Bruny Nsimba gave the side the lead with a well taken strike against Zulte Waregem at home, but the away side turned things around in the second half. Anosike Ementa, who has made a big impact for Zulte Waregem outside of scoring, grabbed his first goal of the season. Former Marseille and Juventus winger Marley Ake made it 2-1 to Zulte Waregem a few minutes later. Thankfully for Dender, they were able to rescue a point thanks to a late strike from defender Luc Marijnissen. However, they are still seven points off of Cercle Brugge in 15th.

Saturday’s action: OH Leuven continue revival, Rik De Mil gets revenge and Antwerp finally win

Cercle Brugge were unable to extend that gap after another disappointing defeat. Onur Cinel will certainly be under pressure as the 2-1 home defeat to OH Leuven means the side have not won in the league since the end of August. Edan Diop gave Cercle the lead, but despite plenty of chances Cercle were unable to take advantage of their first half dominance. Instead, goals from Lukasz Lakomy and Sory Kaba gave Felice Mazzu another win as OH Leuven coach and saw the side getting closer to leaving the bottom four.

Rik De Mil welcomed his former club Westerlo to Charleroi on Saturday evening and delivered some sweet revenge. Goals from the talented Yacine Titraoui and Aurelien Scheidler was enough for the home side to grab all three points. Westerlo haven’t won in five games in all competitions, while Charleroi have won three of their last four in all competitions.

Antwerp head coach Stef Wils was under huge pressure going into the home clash with RAAL LA Louviere. Owen Maes gave him a huge helping hand by getting sent off just before half-time for the away side, although he was somewhat unlucky. It took Antwerp just under 15 minutes to take advantage, with Vincent Janssen ending his scoring drought from the spot. Marwan Al-Sahafi then grabbed his first in the league for Antwerp, before Christopher Scott made it 3-0. RAAL did pull one back through Alexis Beka but for Wils, it was a huge three points.

Sunday’s action: Anderlecht finally beat Club and Sint Truiden win again

Anderlecht’s finally ended a long run of failing to beat Club Brugge. The Mauves took an early lead thanks to a Brandon Mechele own goal after six minutes to earn a 1-0 win in Brussels. The side had plenty of other chances but failed to convert their other 16 shots on goal. Club Brugge will be dissapointed to follow up a fantastic performance against Barcelona with a defeat to their bitter rivals.

Sint Truiden made it three wins on the bounce with a 1-0 victory at home against Standard Liege. On loan striker Keisuke Goto grabbed his fourth goal of the season after half-time as the Canaries grabbed a deserved three points. The side are making a habit of winning 1-0 at the moment, and head coach Wouter Vrancken may be concerned that they aren’t taking more of their chances. In their last two victories over Antwerp and Standard Liege, they really could have won by more.

Genk were unable to follow up their huge Europa League win over Braga with another victory away to Gent this weekend. Hyun-Gyu Oh gave them the lead with a deflected strike in the first half, only for Omri Gandelman to equalise with a fine header early in the second. The Israeli international now has seven goals this season, while Oh keeps his scoring for away games as he moves on to five in the Pro League and eight overall.

KV Mechelen left it late to rescue a point against Pro League leaders Union St Gilloise on Sunday evening. The table toppers took the lead in the 85th minute through Raul Florcz and looked to have secured three points for the Brussels side. Deep into added time the home side were given a life line when they were awarded a penalty. Myron van Brederode grabbed his third Pro League goal for Mechelen since joining from AZ Alkmaar in the summer.

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson