Heist also lost against Young Reds: “There was no dip, but our performance was mediocre” (Heist-op-den-Berg)

Heist suffered a third home defeat in a row against Antwerp. A very efficient Antwerp played the home team in the loss. Heist had opportunities but did not take advantage of them.

“I can only be happy with this great victory,” said visiting coach Faris Haroun. “I asked the players to get off to a good start and we succeeded.” Haroun is in danger of having to miss his captain Dieter Vanhees for a long time with an ankle injury.

Less cheerful faces in the Heist camp, where coach Sepp De Roover had already seen his team play better matches. “We played mediocre football. We certainly had the opportunities to score more, but as a team I didn’t think we were complete enough. I saw three players who were really good, that’s not enough. This was not our best match, although I must also congratulate Antwerp on the two great goals.” What was surprising in the line-up was that defender Brent Peers was on the bench. “I didn’t take any risks with him. He suffered from a small tear and I didn’t want to risk losing him for the rest of the first round.” Heist has three points from the last four games, are we talking about a dip? “I don’t agree with that. We lost our previous home match against Lokeren-Temse 1-2 and I think we played our best match of the season.”

Central defender Kobe Lemmens also had to accept the loss. “We didn’t start sharp enough and that cost us a goal,” said Lemmens. “And so we had to catch up with an entire party. We had chances and I thought we played better in the second half. I was bothered by the opponent wasting time in the second half. Things aren’t really going well for us at the moment, for example I conceded a penalty and I barely hit that player. There are times in a competition when luck is not really on your side. That’s where we are now.”

Finally, board member Roel Grant also spoke: “The next home match on Saturday, November 18 against Jong AA Gent will not be played because Ghent has to miss a number of players for an international match for the reserves. A new date? The clubs can decide this among themselves, although I consider Saturday December 23 as a possibility. The calendar is full and the middle of the week is not really an option.”