Standard and KV Mechelen served lukewarm coffee at Sclessin. It was especially fiery off the field at times, but on the field it was actually disappointing. And so KAA Gent is the smiling third and on its way to final victory in the Europe Play-off.
There wasn’t too much at stake for Standard anyway. Their chance of winning the Europe Play-off had already disappeared before the start of the play-offs. Ivan Leko decided to start the match with a kind of typical team and chose the same eleven.
Besnik Hasi made four changes at KV Mechelen. Bolingoli, Konaté, Slimani and Storm moved to the bench at the expense of Hairemans, Mukau, Bassette and Pflücke. Hasi did not want to take any risks, especially with the 35-year-old Slimani.
Disallowed goal and Bengal fire
Standard and Mechelen wanted to take their chances and in the first minutes this provided the necessary intensity, but gradually the game quickly started to get bogged down in a slower pace and without great opportunities.
After twelve minutes, the home fans came out with a statement and Bengali fire, which forced the match to be stopped for a while. At that moment, Norman Bassette had already seen a goal disallowed, but after the restart it never really became a match again.
KAA Gent the laughing third
What’s rustling through the bushes? That is what Toon Hermans once wondered. Little, very little. Cobbaut once had to keep Kanga on the goal line to make it 1-0. Standard showed the necessary attacking spirit and resilience after three draws, but Mechelen withstood the waves of attacks.
With the score 0-0, neither team is making much progress. Standard recorded its fourth draw in a row, KV Mechelen saw the gap with KAA Gent become six points – the Buffaloes did win at Stayen. And they are actually the laughing third of the battle on Sclessin.
