Olivier Myny returns with FCV Dender razor-sharp from winter training: “Bang against Excelsior Virton and Jong Genk”

The canceled match against Jong Genk has now been scheduled for Tuesday, January 24, so Dender is preparing for an English week with three games in eight days. The make-up match is squeezed between the home match against Virton on Saturday 21 and the away match at Lommel on January 28. Coach Regi Van Acker is already crossing his fingers for a few reinforcements that can be deployed immediately, because the flush became thin. “Dylan Ragolle, Kobe Cools, Jonathan Rowell and Wesley Vanbelle stayed in Belgium to rehabilitate. Virton is also too early for Nicolas Rajsel anyway. We are trying to get Lennard Hens ready after his rest period due to pubalgia, just like Michael Lallemand who had problems with his back.”

Who looked completely sharp in Girona was Olivier Myny, who is completely back after his muscle tear, suffered against the RSCA Futures. The Gullegem flank player knows the tricks of the trade with passages at Roeselare, Waasland-Beveren, OH Leuven and Mouscron. In Girona, Myny Dender helped with a goal to a 2-1 win in the practice match against the Spanish Olot, and also became the laureate of the final obstacle course. “Scoring is always fun. With that win against Olot we obviously don’t buy anything. It turned out to be a tough confrontation with a series of yellow cards. Somehow such a match on the cutting edge was ideal, because it will also be tough in the upcoming competition matches. That I came out of that Fun course as the winner? Well, that shouldn’t be on my list of achievements at all. Juggling the ball around gates as quickly as possible, kicking the post and dropping the ball in the corner … they were fun exercises where you also need some luck.”

Fierce competition

With the arrival of red lantern Excelsior Virton and Jong Genk, it immediately becomes bitterly serious for Dender, which had a dip before New Year and tumbled out of the race for a play-off ticket. “We dropped some stitches, but also had some bad luck. For example, we showed ourselves to be the better team against Lierse Kempenzonen at the Lisp, but we were not rewarded. Only when we visited Club NXT we were outplayed after we had an off day. The Challenger Pro League is an extremely difficult competition that is close to the Jupiler Pro League in terms of level. We proved that in the cup match against Standard, where we only crashed in the final quarter.”

Dender is the youngest professional club in Belgium, but Myny sees few pain points. “Of course Dender can still take steps, but the winter internship was already perfectly organized. Everyone puts their best foot forward here. Enforcing retention as quickly as possible becomes our task. Banging against Virton and Jong Genk is therefore the message to take the first step.”