BEERSCHOT - EUPEN 0 - 3
Costly mistakes, not one bit of luck and zero points in the end: it was the same old story for Beerschot again on Saturday afternoon. Our Mannekes set Eupen on the way to victory with mistakes and fouls that resulted in two red cards even before half time. With nine against eleven it was an uphill struggle from that point... and a new defeat was inevitable.
Just like seven days earlier in Oostende the match was over after less than ten minutes. Van den Bergh messed up, lost the ball and fouled his opponent for which he was rightly sent off, and only two minutes later Eupen scored when Beck headed in a free kick. The worst possible start for new coach Javier Torrente, who reacted swiftly, took off striker Lawrence Shankland and brought on Konstantopoulos trying to create more defensive stability. Beerschot regrouped and Holzhauser and Soumaré threatened but couldn't score an equaliser.
Lots of effort went into that, with powerplay and a couple of good moves but Beerschot were over zealous and too eager with knee high tackles and dissent. Five minutes before the break De Smet was sent off for a unnecessary foul in midfield. Another red card for Beerschot who shot themselves in the foot instead of bouncing back. Again.
Full marks for our fans though, who were fanatical and brilliant throughout the game and created a great atmosphere in the Olympic Stadium. In the end however it were the visitors who scored with a low and dry shot from Kayembe. Coach Torrente brought on his remaining substitutes. Suzuki went close with a nice header but Eupen goalie Himmelmann palmed away the ball at the very last second. In the dying minutes of the game Prevljak scored a third goal for Eupen for an exaggerated final score.
ATTENDANCE: 7.500
REFEREE: Verboomen
DOELPUNTEN: 9' Beck 0-1, 62' Kayembe 0-2, 88' Prevliak 0-3
BEERSCHOT: Vanhamel, Halaimia (69' Suzuki), Radic, Van den Bergh, De Smet, Pietermaat, Coulibaly (46' Bourdin), Caicedo (46' Vaca), Holzhauser (69' Noubissi), Soumaré, Shankland (9' Konstantopoulos)
EUPEN: Himmelmann, Amat, Peeters, Prevljak, N'Dri (55' Deom), Agbadou, Cools (67' Gnaka), Heris (78' Magee), Nuhu (78' Lambert), Beck (67' Kone), Kayembe
YELLOW CARDS: Pietermaat, Holzhauser, Radic, Vanhamel, Cools, Agbadou, Nuhu, Bourdin, Beck
RED CARDS: 5' Van den Bergh, 39' De Smet
By Danny Geerts
