League 19th day
La Calamine - White Star : 1-2
Liege, here we come!
Before next week’s clash versus Liege, current leaders, the Whites had to win this Sunday to German-speaking La Calamine to edge ever closer to first place. It was not chose aisée, however, especially given that our players were not on form.
Our boys owed it to Bartholomew and Kempeneer respectively in the first half, whose efforts warranted their lead at half time. In the 35th, Bartholomew deceived the goalie with a stunning lob which landed squarely in the nets. And our Kempi, him again, prevented the opposition from equalising thanks to stringent goalkeeping just before half time. The score was still somewhat inflated as La Calamine had up ‘til then been the better team.
Four minutes after the break, Rinaldi managed to break away. At 2 – 0 we thought we’d finished the job, but Zahiri saw the ball fall into his lap for a third, courtesy of a penalty but which he completely fumbled. This squandered opportunity rejuvenated the hosts’ spirits, with Nélis putting one away soon after. But at 2 – 1, after Rusabana’s sending off, we were in firm control, to be able to steal away with the three points.
Anyway, the important part to remember is the victory. We’re now second, 5 points away from Liege. The Stade Fallon match against the valiant Liege crew is the most appetising encounter to date. If Biot and his crew win, they’ll only be two points away from the leaders and the race for the title will have been relaunched.
Post-match commentary...
Dr. Chapelle: «Fair play is part of football and goes for everyone.»
In a match which we knew was going to be difficult, La Calamine having just taken a point at Liege and ditched its trainer, I found our players very on edge until the first goal allowed us breathing room to get back in the match. At 2-0, we found our old game until the penalty given in our favour, which should have allowed us to lead 3-0 and bring home the bacon. But it didn’t, so we gave La Calamine something to cling on to and, with their goal out of the blue, as Nélis was just trying to centre it and not lob it to the keeper, we had to rally our forces just to maintain our slim lead with the help of Kempeneer, on the ball as ever. OK, missing a penalty happens to everyone but we did the same this week and two players had been named to take them; fair play is part of football and goes for everyone, as for Hassan in Anderlecht, exactly in the same boat and who did the same thing, only that time entraining defeat for his club. I am dazzled at the number of yellow cards dispensed in what was a very above board game and especially the third on Rinaldi, which means he misses Liege. Still, let’s remember our excellent track record since the beginning of the year: 2 points lost from 6 fixtures!
