MLS bound Kevin Denkey signs off with a goal as Cercle Brugge demolish Olimpija Ljubljana in the Europa Conference League | OneFootball

Prior to this evening, Olimpija had only lost once in the Conference League and were unbeaten at home. Yet Cercle Brugge came to Slovenia and handed the side a resounding defeat. Kazeem Olaigbe was the star as he scored twice and grabbed an assist in the 4-1 win. Kevin Denkey also signed off with a goal as he made his final appearance for the side before his move to the MLS.

Cercle got off to a fantastic start, with Alan Minda’s early cross smashed home by Kazeem Olaigbe. Their lead barely lasted more than a minute, with the hosts going down the other end to grab an equaliser. Alejandro Blanco got in behind the Cercle defence to fire home, giving Maxime Delanghe no chance in goal.

Yet Felipe Augusto, the man who may be tasked to replace the goals scored by Denkey, flicked in a cross from Edgaris Utkus to make it 2-1 at half-time. Things got even better for the away side after the break when Olimpija went down to 10 men. Thalisson was sent off just two minutes after coming on at half-time, certainly not what Victor Sanchez would have wanted from the midfielder when he made the switch during the break.

Ferdinand Feldhofer introduced Denkey for his last game for Cercle just before the 70th minute mark. The striker tucked in from a well placed Olaigbe cross before providing the pass that saw Olaigbe fire in from outside the box. The side then saw the game out, and while Olaigbe will take most of the headlines, Gary Magnee deserves plenty of plaudits. The winger was fantastic all night at both ends and really helped the side take advantage of being a man up.

For Feldhofer, he could not have asked for a better start to life at Cercle. Given the dissatisfaction of the fans with the decision to sack Miron Muslic, Feldhofer is under pressure to turn things around quickly. The side face Gent at the weekend before a clash with Istanbul Başakşehir in their final league match in the Conference League. The side are in with a great chance of finishing in the top eight and skipping the first knock-out round.

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson