A trip to the Bosuil was on the pre-Christmas menu for our Kemphanen. The difficulty of the journey to Antwerp was already evident from the statistics. The Great Old has not lost a single time at home this season and has secured six clean sheets. It was up to Westerlo to try to break down the Antwerp defense.

Lineup KVC Westerlo: S. Bolat, J. Bos, N. Madsen (67′ L. Stassin), K. Vaesen, S. Sydorchuk, G. Yow (89′ D. Haspolat), R. Tagir (93′ T. Rommens), E. Jordanov, R. Neustädter, A. Piedfort, N. Chadli (46′ T. Van den Keybus)

First Half

Just like last week, coach De Mil had to make a substitution even before the kickoff. This time, it was Reynolds who had to withdraw at the last minute and was replaced by Jordanov.

Jordanov, along with the other Kemphanen, experienced that the Great Old wanted to end its top year of 2023 in style. The home team’s pace was high in the initial phase, and the pressure on the man in possession was intense.

Nevertheless, our Kemphanen stood firm and gradually gained control of the game. Energetic Madsen and Vaesen posed problems for the Antwerp defense, but they couldn’t score the liberating opening goal.

On the other hand, the home team found the way to the net. In injury time of the first half, Muja created space for himself and skillfully blasted the ball low into the corner past Bolat. KVCW’s fiery first half ended with a cold shower.

Second Half

Despite the deficit, the strong first half of our Kemphanen provided the necessary confidence. KVCW tried to continue the momentum from the first half, but both teams balanced each other well in a game with a lot of determination and passion.

Coach De Mil must have thought it was time to shake things up a bit. With the introduction of Stassin for Madsen, he added an extra striker to the team 20 minutes before the final whistle. This move clearly had its effect, as just four minutes after coming on, Stassin poked in the equalizer via the rebound.

After that, the motto for our Kemphanen was “up and over.” Stassin – once again – applied for the title of man of the match by taking the lead with a beautiful shot into the far corner after the 1-1.

A three-pointer seemed imminent, but defensive champion Antwerp launched a strong final offensive. Captain Alderweireld once again lived up to his hero status and volleyed in the equalizer.

The home team then sought an additional goal but found their match in a brave Westerlo, which, after a spectacular match at the Bosuil, goes home with a well-deserved point.

Report: Glen Van Herck
Photos: Peter De Voecht/Photo News