Lots of battle but no winner: Standard and Westerlo are not making much progress with the top score

Lots of battle but no winner: Standard and Westerlo are not making much progress with the top score

Standard was not able to continue on the momentum of last week. At home, the Rouches did not get further than 0-0 against Westerlo. The Gamecocks took their second point in the competition after almost eight weeks. Due to the scoreless draw, Westerlo passes the red lantern again (for the time being) to KV Kortrijk.

The 0-3 defeat exactly a week ago against champion Antwerp was not without consequences for Westerlo. Jonas De Roeck not only changed the field formation – three defenders in possession of the ball and five when losing the ball – he also put four new names on the score sheet. Sinan Bolat was behind the bar again after more than a month on the banks of the Maas against his ex-club Standard. Jordan Bos made his comeback after surgery on the appendix, which caused him to drop out just before the match against Anderlecht. Ravil Tagir and Yusuke Matsuo also got a starting spot. At Standard, there was little reason to change after the 1-3 win against Eupen, but the coach was forced to make changes in two places. Carl Hoefkens missed the suspended Steven Alzate and the injured Kostantinos Laifis. In their place came William Balikwisha and Nathan Ngoy.

No beauty prize

The Rouches fans expressed their displeasure after barely five minutes, because referee Bert Put left a firm body check by Roman Neustädter – just outside the sixteen meters – on Wilfried Kanga unpunished. Four minutes later, Matsuo was briefly injured after a duel with Isaac Hayden. The first danger came from the same Japanese. The angle was sharp and Arnaud Bodart turned the attempt into a corner. With a free kick from the left, Nacer Chadli again tested Bodart’s fists. The first twenty minutes belonged to an eager Westerlo. Gradually the people of Liège took over command. Kanga decided on Bolat in an offside position and the visiting goalie responded attentively to a shot from Balikwisha. Kanga in turn curled the ball wide of the right post. The 18,504 spectators did not see academic football in the Stade Maurice Dufrasne, but they did see a lot of battles and duels.

Photo: BELGIAN

The same 22 actors returned to the field after a fifteen-minute break. Balikwisha scored the first goal attempt of the second half. Bolat had no trouble with his shot without gunpowder. Subconsciously, the fear of losing prevailed among numbers thirteen and sixteen. The visitors escaped with a shock when a surprised Kamal Sowah shot at goal from close range and a few minutes later an advancing Moussa Djenepo aimed the wrong side of the post. The signal for De Roeck to bring in a fresh force with Kyan Vaesen. He relieved Croatian record purchase Matija Frigan. Who fought many duels, but made just too many offensive mistakes and did not get into a scoring position.

Save van Bolat

All in all, the Gamecocks were poor offensively. The scarce transition moments were used too carelessly. Substitutes Lucas Stassin and Thomas Van den Keybus were given more than fifteen minutes to provide new offensive impulses. Bolat made an excellent save on a deviation from Kanga. Westerlo narrowly escaped the 1-0. Ten minutes before the final whistle, Westerlo’s coach had used up all his substitutions and it seemed mainly important to get that one point over the line. The last chance was for substitute Noah Ohio. Illustrative of the match, his header went over Bolat’s goal. The Gamecocks are not making much progress with the point. But for the confidence and peace in the tent, the hard-fought draw was half a victory.

Lots of battle but no winner: Standard and Westerlo are not making much progress with the top score

Photo: BELGIAN

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