Inefficient Club loses, title fight unseen exciting

The opponent, on the other hand, could suddenly hope for the maximum, the title, due to the draw between Antwerp and Union. Genk had to beat Club for that. We are ten minutes away when Romeo Vermant, in the base after his strong raid against Antwerp last week, sees his attempt via Vandervoordt hit the crossbar. Genk has been shaken up and has to work hard to keep its title chances intact.

And after fifteen minutes the Limburgers already come up with an answer. The ball lands with a bit of luck to Paintsil, who kicks in hard across the corner. Minutes later, Mignolet avoided a double deficit after another attempt by Paintsil. Despite the fact that nothing is at stake for Club, they still make it a game for the home crowd. An active left flank with Meijer and Nusa made things quite difficult for Genk, but Club didn’t get any further than a ball on the Genk goal line in the first half. We rest with 0-1.

In the second half, Genk crawled into a hedgehog position, Blauw-Zwart can become so dangerous. Club finally cashed in on a corner kick by Rits. Vanaken can head in and already makes his fourth in these play-offs. The Limburgers have not done much until then, and the title seems far away again. That remains the case until ten minutes before the end, a fresh Bruges attack line and a lot of youth clearly want to put themselves in the spotlight, but they are caught cold on the counter. Hrosovsky can kick a carom in front of Mignolet’s cage against the ropes, 1-2 and Genk celebrates. A few minutes later, star Paintsil can also score his second and record the 1-3 final score.

Club’s defeat makes the title fight very exciting. Genk has 45 points with one matchday to go. Union and Antwerp count a point more, but the Antwerp team has the advantage in a tie.

Next week Club will go to Union, which must win to have a chance at the championship, but then Antwerp – which is champion anyway – will have to drop points when visiting Genk. The Limburgers must win, and hope that Union does not win in order to still be able to play champions.