Man of the match: Jon Thorsteinsson confirms his strong season for Leuven. A penalty goal, an assist and a whole match of danger, the Icelander barely missed Ostend.
Key moment: An immature KVO swallowed two goals before half-time, but came out of the changing rooms with renewed enthusiasm and courage, still tried. A successful penalty from Thorsteinsson was the final straw for even the most hopeful Ostender on the hour.
Remarkable: Eleven seasons JPL is not in it for KV Oostende. Two years ago it finished fifth, just outside the play-off 1 places. Now it is being relegated to Challenger Pro League land, with the American owner being the scapegoat for many fans.
There is no shortage of great things by the sea, and certainly in Ostend. No different tonight at the Diaz Arena. A home win would be great as would mean hope. The loss that followed, however, felt even greater, the miracle made impossible
Crushed by the pressure, and also by a lack of quality, the Kustboys were mostly under the pressure in the first half. Leuven was boss, with a particularly industrious Schrijvers. After a first wave, he was allowed to try again from the half moon, with verve. Straight into his side, downfall set in.
KVO then came beeping for one minute. Cojocaru stopped Ndicka, Hornby found a strong Patris in his path. There was not much more in the first Ostend half.
The visitors cheered. Opoku was able to work the 2-0 against the nets after a headed corner. Resting with a mountain to climb as an assignment in the next half.
KV Oostende still believed in a miracle against all science, facts and experience, and came up after the break, as much as it could.
Push forward isn’t everything. Goals make the real difference, and Ostend couldn’t manage that. Tamari was able to pop up on the other side, infiltrate, and thus decorated a penalty. Thorsteinsson converted flawlessly, Hubert dived in the wrong direction.
A sunken ship at sea, with half an hour to play. Leuven had no problem with the pressure of Ostend. That tried to bite, but turned out to be toothless. Arase was the only one who put Cojocaru to work. Sakamoto tried, but couldn’t get beyond some great moves.
OH Leuven had the opportunity to delve even further, but forgot to finish.
Audience favorite Brecht Capon was sent out to the meadow, with a warm round of applause as a gift. No solution for the situation on the field, Nsingi scored a fourth goal in the Ostend goal after a razor-sharp counter from OH Leuven.
KVO will play in the second division next season, together with Seraing. Zulte-Waregem or Eupen will follow. In Flemish Brabant they still hope for Europe Play-Offs, but then everything has to go well during the last matches of Charleroi, Anderlecht and Cercle Brugge.
