The Europe Play-offs have been decided. KV Mechelen fought like lions for 45 minutes, but an incredibly efficient AA Gent still took a 2-3 lead into halftime, after which the Buffalos were no longer in trouble. Mission accomplished and time for a modest party, you think, but that was not expected by Hein Vanhaezebrouck. It was no coincidence that the Ghent coach had already made two substitutions at half time: “To be honest, I restrained myself not to make any substitutions before half time. I was absolutely not satisfied with my players,” Vanhaezebrouck was not at all pleased, despite the good outcome. “I am happy with the win but not with our performance.”
In the first half, the neutral spectators probably enjoyed the five goals and the truckload of hot positions in both penalty zones. The two coaches undoubtedly enjoyed much less the sometimes clumsy defensive errors their teams committed. Malinwa deserves nothing but praise for the excellent competitive mentality it displayed, but in the end you don’t buy anything with that. The very unfortunate Garananga in particular really rolled out the red carpet for the Buffaloes.
Admittedly, the visitors from Ghent also showed themselves to be extremely efficient. Earlier this season it was often completely different. An early deficit was erased by Fernandez-Pardo on a pass from Tissoudali, but when substitute Slimani Malinwa took the lead again, it was Mitrovic who scored. Tissoudali eventually completed the harsh verdict for the enthusiastic but defensively shaky home team even before the break.
“It doesn’t happen that often to us, but it is inherent to football: a team that does not participate can still go into halftime with a lead,” Vanhaezebrouck still sounded slightly embarrassed afterwards. “After the break we were better and didn’t give much away. However, it is a half-miracle that you score three times in the first half, albeit with some cooperation from them.”
Buffalos can now look forward to their ‘season finale’
Ghent did not give up that ‘lucky’ bonus after the break and thanks to a wonderful goal from the returning Hjulsager, the Buffaloes eventually started the return trip to the Arteveldestad with a 2-4 final score and the final victory in the Europe Play-offs. . Nothing but happy faces among the Ghent players, but their coach was already thinking about the all-decisive jump-off match that his team will contest.
That is why Vanhaezebrouck will undoubtedly want to sharpen his group of players in the coming weeks. He will use the three remaining matches in the play-offs to get some boys back on track, while others can get some playing minutes again. “Anyone who does not play in those three matches will simply not start in the jump-off match,” he gave his players a clear warning. You can bet that Vanhaezebrouck will want to say goodbye in style, with a European ticket. The opponent from the Champions’ Play-offs has already been warned.
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