Kemphanen on a mission. With a spectacular tifo, the supporters in the Kuipje made it clear what they expected from the team tonight. With the arrival of opponent Charleroi, a close pursuer in the standings could be left far behind with a win, so the numerous fans present put their troops on high alert. “Show me your war face” was the unmistakable message.

Line-up KVC Westerlo: S. Bolat, J. Bos, N. Madsen, M. Frigan (74′ K. Vaesen), S. Sydorchuk (80′ T. Van den Keybus), G. Yow, B. Reynolds, R. Neustädter (46′ R. Tagir), E. Bayram, A. Piedfort (87′ D. Haspolat), N. Chadli (74′ A. Sayyadmanesh)

First half

The cheering from the stands already led to a lot of battle on the field, but real chances were few and far between. However, the first shot on target was successful. After a free kick, the ball fell to Piedfort and he seemed to score the opening goal, but referee Van Driessche disallowed the goal for a (very) slight prior foul.

On the other end, the visitors didn’t create a shot on goal, but hit the woodwork via Andreou.

However, much midfield play dominated the game for the rest of the first half. The match sheet was filled more with yellow cards and fouls than with clear goal-scoring opportunities towards the halftime whistle. 0-0 was the logical scoreline after 45 minutes of play.

Second half

The lack of chances in the first half was immediately compensated by a series of attempts at the start of the second. Charleroi goalkeeper Koffi had to show he was sharp right out of the dressing room with two attempts from Madsen, and on a third attempt from Frigan, the visiting goalkeeper managed to push the shot wide.

Charleroi offered little resistance but struck mercilessly just after the hour mark. A quick counterattack from the Zebras found success with Guiagon as the final destination. The score was 0-1.

The Kemphanen tried to recover, and Yow almost equalized immediately with a header, but his attempt was saved by Koffi.

When the visiting goalkeeper was finally beaten, it was the crossbar that prevented a deserved equalizer for KVCW after a fine shot from Bayram.

Yellow-blue continued to push, and with the end in sight, substitute Vaesen also came dangerously close, but his header was ultimately cleared off the line by Koffi, who thus secured the three points for the visiting Zebras. A vibrant evening ended with a bitter defeat for everyone with a yellow-blue heart.

Report: Glen Van Herck
Photos: Thomas Sisk/Photo News