Key moment: In minute 88, Aboubakary Koita seems to give STVV the victory with a beautiful free kick, but 3 minutes later Frigan deflects the ball into the goal on the other side. A stroke of luck or a stroke of genius, the Croatian will in any case record the final score.
Man of the Match: After a game in which there were opportunities everywhere, we can actually put several names here. Madsen was the best man in the first half, but Koita again showed his class with 2 goals. The winger’s tally now stands at 10 goals.
Remarkable: STVV and Westerlo seem to like a division of points. The home team drew in 4 of its last 8 matches, STVV is the king of draws in our competition with 6 draws on 14 match days (together with Genk).
After the victory against Leuven, hope for improvement was finally back at Westerlo. Tonight the Gamecocks were even able to escape the relegation zone for the first time this season, but they had to get past STVV to do so.
And they didn’t seem to have fully understood that at Westerlo, because after just 6 minutes the home team had to chase after a swipe from Eric Bocat Junior.
Westerlo then woke up and created danger mainly through stationary phases. The STVV defense had a lot of difficulty tonight clearing balls from the 16.
It is therefore not surprising that the equalizer came via a corner kick. On the fifteen minute mark, a pinball machine was created in front of Suzuki’s goal, who was initially helped by the post, but had to turn around in a second action after a goal by Bayram.
Fifteen minutes later, Madsen was even able to give his team the lead – after another poor clearance in the STVV defense. The midfielder cleverly placed the ball in the short corner, 2-1 for Westerlo in an attractive first half.
In the second half the will was still there, but the spectacle of the first half was somewhat lacking. Until fifteen minutes from the end anyway.
In minute 75, STVV receives a questionable penalty after a handball by goalscorer Bayram. Aboubakary Koita does not hesitate and hits the ball in the top corner, 2-2 and everything has to be done again.
And 13 minutes later, the same Koita turns the game completely upside down. He aims a free kick through the wall and puts STVV back in the lead. Then another painful defeat for Westerlo?
No, because even then the game has not yet been played. In minute 91, a shot from Bos ends up in the goal via a deviation from substitute Frigan.
The same Frigan goes down a little later in the box, the VAR calls Laforge to the screen, but he sees no problem in it. The match ultimately ended in a fair draw and after 100 minutes the 14th matchday had a game of spectacle football as an opener.
