Three matches in eight days. So rotate, thought coach Hasi, because four changes in the Mechelen starting eleven. Slimani was rested, his replacement at the front was Bassette. Furthermore, Bolingoli, Konaté and Storm left for Pflücke, Mukau and Hairemans respectively. Foulon, who had some hip problems, was still ready for the kick-off. At Standard, coach Leko did not pull any surprises out of the hat.
Instant flares
Things were a bit shabby during the opening phase at the usually fiery Sclessin. Twelve minutes of dead silence from the home supporters in protest against the state of affairs in Liège. One second after twelve, the hard core immediately made itself heard, but in a negative way. Flares on the field, ref Allaerts stopped the game for a moment.
So much for the strange beginning of Standard – KV Mechelen. Bassette had already made the net shake, but his 0-1 was rightly disallowed due to Foulon’s offside in the run-up to the goal. It took half an hour to wait until Standard showed up. Yeboah countered excellently and served Kawabe, but the dutiful Foulon squeezed out an ultimate acceleration to prevent the Japanese from scoring. Not that the level of play also increased, but a little later Standard insisted again. Once again Yeboah was the pointer with a ball backwards, Balikwisha blasted high over goal. Two big chances for the home team, but for Malinwa it was a weak shot from Hairemans. Would someone want to light the fuse in the second half – on the field that is?
Cobbaut saves on the line
The Rouches also started the second half best. Balikiwisha kicked from outside the box, but did not get past Coucke. Before halftime, the KV goalie also reacted alertly in a pinball phase after a shot from Kanga, but now he had to make his first real save. The people of Mechelen thought nothing better than to send Bassette deep in vain, while Standard did create a concrete goal threat. A shot from Kawabe was stopped by Cobbaut’s leg, a little later Coucke’s fists stopped a breakaway shot from the Japanese.
The save of the match was yet to come. Not by Coucke, but by Cobbaut, who turned Kanga’s ball off the line. The Standard striker previously headed into the hands of Coucke. Just to say that the danger came from one side.
Six-point gap with AA Gent
By bringing Slimani, Storm and Walsh for Bassette, Hairemans and Pflücke, Hasi still wanted to mean something offensively. But little came of that. Perica was almost dangerous for the people of Liège, but that was beyond Bates’s calculations.
Thus the match ended in a draw. Given the course of the match, they certainly cannot complain about that result at Malinwa, but the last European ticket now seems very far away. Due to the Ghent victory over Stayen (0-2), the gap between KV and the Buffaloes already amounts to six points. With five games to go, nothing has been lost yet, but the Kakkers will have to do better than in Liège on Tuesday evening.
