Red Lantern Beerschot proved unable to unsettle Club Brugge at its home ground. Two struck twice in close repitition twenty minutes in, goals courtesy of Nilsson and Vetlesen, while Vanaken tucked it to bed with fifteen minutes on the clock. The visitors proved resilient, however, drawing closer to 3-2, but in the end again Nilsson hammered in the 4-2 final score.
Those who were at Jan Breydel to see Club beat KRC Genk on Wednesday noticed the team had undergone quite some changes: in goal Mignolet returned at the expense of Jackers, while Mechele was reunited with Siquet, Spileers and Meijer, referring Sabbe, Ordóñez and De Cuyper to the bench. Onyedika and Vanaken this time saw Nielsen, Vetlesen, Skóraś and Nilsson alongside, taking the places of Jashari, Talbi, Tzolis and Jutglà.
The many changes did not keep the hosts from starting out well, and straight from kick-off Vetlesen set the pace sending Skóraś through, but Mbe Soh came just in time to deny the Pole. With constant possession for Club, Beerschot had to make the most of the little possession it had, and ten minutes in Kosiah came just short of tapping in a fine cross from the right. On the other side of the pitch, former Club goalie Shinton pushed it off course as Vanaken tried from afar.
A dominant Club took the lead after twenty minutes played. Siquet neatly saw Vetlesen in front of goal, but the Norwegian's effort was blocked, the ball coming to Gustaf Nilsson who slotted it in with a meticulous strike in the bottom right hand corner (1-0). The crowd was still cheering when another goal followed; this time Vanaken found Hugo Vetlesen inside the box, cutting out his defender and firing in the 2-0 in the far corner. Club now kept coming, as Nilsson's attempt ended up in the eager hands of Shinton, and Skóraś was unable to prolong the Swede's cross in goal. With ten minutes to play in the first half, Nilsson took a Siquet cross in one go, but again Shinton produced a fine save. Further attempts by Vetlesen and Onyedika went over, while Siquet saw his shot deflected.
With Jashari on for Onyedika, Club had trouble getting in its rhythm in the second half. The first real questions were asked by Beerschot, as Weymans' shot sailed over. More than long range shots by Nielsen and Jashari whizzing past wasn't in it for Club, and a powerless Beerschot did not seem to mind that double deficit.
But the final fifteen minutes of the game brought some life to the by now bloodless game. After Al-Sahafi's deviation went just wide, Club reacted well through Jutglà, first seeing his sturdy header denied by Shinton, but the Spaniard did not budge, going past his defender with a masterful move and aiming for the far post from an acute angle. As the ball chipped off the post, Vanaken turned it home to make it a reassuring 3-0. A seldom error by Mechele helped Beerschot to the 3-1 as Kosiah fired it in neatly, and Weymans even restored tension to the game by scoring the 3-2 with a magnificent strike going in off the underside of the bar (3-2). Blue and Black saw no cause for panic, however, scoring a fourth, again through Nilsson, firing it in after some neat combination play inside the box (4-2).
Jupiler Pro League – Match Day 22
Audience: 25,000 – Jan Breydel Stadium
Ref: Wim Smet
Club Brugge: Simon Mignolet – Hugo Siquet (67’ Joaquin Seys), Jorne Spileers, Brandon Mechele, Bjorn Meijer (67’ Maxim De Cuyper) – Casper Nielsen (81’ Joel Ordóñez), Raphael Onyedika (46’ Ardon Jashari), Hans Vanaken – Hugo Vetlesen (74’ Ferran Jutglà), Gustaf Nilsson, Michał Skóraś. Bench: Nordin Jackers, Axl De Corte, Christos Tzolis, Kyriani Sabbe and Chemsdine Talbi. Coach: Nicky Hayen.
Beerschot VA: Nick Shinton – Apostolos Konstantopoulos, Loïc Mbe Soh, Marco Weymans, Brian Plat – Ewan Henderson (46’ Katuku Tshimanga), Faisal Al-Ghamdi, Tom Reyners (46’ Hakim Sahabo) – Marwan Al-Sahafi (84’ Soualio Keita), Ayouba Kosiah, Thibaud Verlinden. Coach: Dirk Kuijt.
Yellow: none
Red: none
Goals: 19’ Nilsson (1-0), 22’ Vetlesen (2-0), 77’ Vanaken (3-0), 80’ Kosiah (3-1), 90+2’ Weymans (3-2), 90+5’ Nilsson (4-2).