Relief and disappointment were close together in the blue-black camp. A bitter defeat was avoided, but Club had opportunities to win three games. It is an old problem with blue-black. “
Brandon Mechele: “Story of our season”
Club Brugge may not have given much away, but it couldn’t win again. And that frustrated Brandon Mechele. “A lack of happiness? You can say that, but on the other hand we get a lot of opportunities. Big, well-played opportunities. But again we were not efficient. I feel like we deserve more, but that’s the story of the whole season,” Mechele sighed.
“It was difficult for us to escape their pressure before half time. But towards the end of the match, fatigue struck Cercle. And then it was Club Brugge that took the cake. When the goal is conceded, someone is again alone in the second zone. That is simply not allowed.”
Club is also not doing much in the rankings, although a defeat would have been completely dramatic. “Now we just have to prepare well for that match against Anderlecht. Or that a must win in? We are a lot of points behind, so every game during the play-offs is a must win for us.”
Hans Vanaken: “The ranking? We don’t look at that”
Hans Vanaken almost scored a gem. His free kick exploded onto the crossbar. “Very annoying. When you hit the post twice, see the crossbar and a shot on the line swept away, you start to think that the ball doesn’t want to go in after all. So yes, I was relieved that we still scored. The lack of efficiency has returned many times this season. We train enough on finishing, but something like this has to happen in the match.”
Vanaken did not think that Club Brugge acted dramatically before half time. The fact that blue-black came out difficult was mainly due to Cercle, according to him. “It’s hard to get rid of their pressure. The coach had asked to build from the back. And if that doesn’t work, the team might start to have doubts,” says Vanaken.
How Vanaken now views the rankings? “No, we just don’t do that,” he says. “We have already had a difficult season. So we have to collect as many points as possible and then see where we end up.”