After a miserable first half, KRC Genk could be happy that there was only a 0-1 deficit on the scoreboard of the Cegeka Arena, after all, the score could have been much higher. From the kick-off, the Limburgers had a hard time with the high pressing and energetic play of the Association, who opened the score after nine minutes through who else than Kevin Denkey. From close range, the top scorer in the Jupiler Pro League scored his sixteenth competition goal of the season.
The grumbling Genk crowd was then presented with a truckload of opportunities for the visitors. However, Nazinho, Utkus, Lemaréchal, Denkey and again Lemaréchal missed opportunities. Only when calm was in sight did the Bruges winter storm subside. Cuesta was the first to put his nose into the window for the vice champions and in injury time of the first half, Tolu curled a self-forced free kick against the outside of the post. With the subsequent corner kick, Daniel Munoz seemed to head the equalizer into the net, but the goal was disallowed for offside.
Even after the break it remained a fascinating spectacle, this time with opportunities on both sides. An otherwise excellent Félix Lemaréchal once again forgot to double the lead and that was particularly painful for Cercle. Just after the hour mark, Andi Zeqiri, who had just come on, scored the equalizer untenably into the bottom corner from outside the sixteen: 1-1. Both teams went no further. The result was a division of points that no one was really happy about.
Genk remains fourth in the standings with 35 points, but they are in danger of losing that fourth place on Saturday evening to Club Brugge, which hosts Westerlo. With 32 points, Cercle currently shares sixth place with national champion Antwerp.