In the1/8th Finals of the Croky Cup, Club Brugge traveled to Limburg to take on Patro Eisden Maasmechelen. The visitors took the lead fairly early on after a goal by Nielsen, but on the half hour Patro came alongside after a goal by Van Eenoo. Early in the second half, Vanaken provided the new lead with a header goal and eventually Jashari recorded the 1-3 final score. Club continues in the Croky Cup!
Blauw-Zwart kept things exciting at home Saturday against Dender for a long time, but finally managed to win by a comfortable 4-1 score. Due to a very busy schedule, coach Hayen decided to rotate his starting line-up for the cup match against Patro Eisden. Six substitutions were made and the first took place in goal. Mignolet got a rest and Jackers got his chance. In defense, Sabbe and Romero showed their skills at the expense of Seys and Ordóñez. In midfield, Jashari got some rest and Nielsen was allowed to start. The last two changes were made in the offensive compartment. Talbi decided Saturday's game against Dender with two late goals and received coach Hayen's confidence. He played alongside Tzolis in support of deep striker Vermant. Thus, Skov Olsen and Jutglà started from the bench.
It was Club that immediately claimed the ball in the opening stages of the match and allowed the leather to pass well from foot to foot. This did not initially produce a goal threat, as the home side stood well in their defensive organization. After just under ten minutes, Tzolis put himself through well on his flank and put the ball sharply in front of goal. There, Van Eenoo was alert to turn the leather at the first post into a corner kick. The first real chance came a few minutes later when De Cuyper sent a good cross into the box. Talbi was able to head there, but his attempt was not framed. That could be said of Nielsen's shot shortly thereafter! Tzolis poked the ball nicely deep for the Danish midfielder and he did not hesitate to pop the early lead past Belin. Blauw-Zwart did not rest on its laurels and quickly went in search of that second goal. Vanaken was able to get the ball to Sabbe, but Vermant was unable to reach his cross. De Cuyper finally got the ball to Tzolis and the Greek winger attempted a half-volley, but Belin had no problem with it. After twenty minutes we did not register a chance for Patro, but that changed. Bammens had a header on target after a through ball, but Jackers pushed the ball against the post with an ultimate reflex. In the retrieval, Bammens was able to head again, but again Club's goalie prevented the equalizer. If the goal had come anyway, the party was cancelled out due to offside by the Patro player.
The visitors were warned at this one though and responded five minutes later through Vermant. The Club striker advanced with the ball at foot and then went for his own success. His blast landed on Belin's fists. On the half hour mark, the score was tied again and Patro Eisden unfortunately had Jackers to thank for that. The Blauw-Zwart goalkeeper hesitated too long to put the ball in play and lost it to Bammens. The latter easily laid back for Van Eenoo, who did not hesitate to kick the equalizer against the nets. The game went well up and down in this phase, as the visitors reacted rather quickly to the counter-goal. After a good combination between Vanaken and Vermant, Nielsen was able to score from just outside the penalty area, but his deviated effort unfortunately hit the crossbar. Moments later it was the Limburgers' turn again and again through Van Eenoo. This time he tried it from far away on a deflected ball. Jackers took no risk this time and pushed the ball into a corner. One minute later we could already note another chance on the opposite side, but Belin went well flat to keep a shot from Sabbe out of his goal. In the ensuing corner kick, Mechele was unable to frame his header. Patro's goalie made two more appearances at the end of the first half after intervening on attempts by Vermant and a header by Talbi, but did not allow himself to be outsmarted. We rested with a tie of 1-1...
No changes were made to start the second half and that second half started perfectly for Blauw-Zwart. De Cuyper put himself behind the ball to kick a corner and he placed the leather perfectly on the head of Vanaken. The captain was free to head in from close range and so a new lead for Club was on the board. The home team's reaction was not long in coming, because after an action by Vanrafelghem, Bammens was just able to get the ball to Abid. He forced Jackers into a good save and in the corner kick that followed, Club's goalie also reacted wisely. At this point, the Brugge players took command again. Vanaken and Vermant found each other well and the latter laid off for Tzolis. His shot was also of good quality, but Belin was not outsmarted. Two minutes later the Greek got a second chance, again on a Vermant pass, but again Belin put a stop to it. The Patro goalkeeper continued to make a name for himself in this phase, as he also kept a deviation from his own teammate Borry out of his goal with an excellent reflex. On the hour, he also had some windfall when a header from Vermant landed pardonably on the crossbar.
Of course, the difference remained just one goal and so Patro Eisden continued to believe in their chances. Dansoko found the back line and dribbled past Sabbe at speed before tapping in front of goal. Fortunately, Nielsen was well tracked to intervene to neutralize the danger. A few minutes later it was up to Vanrafelghem who took his chance from just outside the sixteen, but his curl was fortunately unframed. Van Eenoo was the last to try in this short space of time, but his shot did not find the goal frame either. After 80 minutes, the game seemed decided! Jashari set up the attack himself and with some luck he got the ball to Vanaken. The captain of Bruges immediately played the ball back to Jashari, who passed the ball to Belin. Shortly thereafter, the numbers got even heavier for Patro, but Vermant was unable to finish from close range after a deflected shot by Vetlesen. Shortly before the end of regular playing time, the home team responded once more via a shot from Dansoko, but Jackers had no problem with the central shot.
In the end, six minutes of added time were counted and in it the Bruges fans were able to threaten once more. After a sharp counter Vermant was able to make it 1-4, but Belin kept a strong game and kept the final score at 1-3. Blauw-Zwart continues and qualifies for the quarterfinals of the Croky Cup!
Croky Cup - 1/8th Final
Spectators: 6,500 - Patro Stadium
Referee: Lothar D'Hondt
Patro Eisden Maasmechelen: Jordi Belin - Henk Dijkhuizen (82' Papa Demba Ndior), Jordan Renson, Kjetil Borry, Kevin Kis - Reno Wilmots (82' William Simba), Lukas Van Eenoo, Simon Bammens - Adnane Abid (76' Vicky Kiankaulua), Keano Vanrafelghem, Bafodé Dansoko.
Bank: Gian Geladé, Stef Kempeneers, Raoul Kenne, Sebas Vreys, Tarek Loutfi, William Simba, Papa Demba Ndior, Raphaël Sarfo, Vicky Kiankaulua.
Coach: Stijn Stijnen.
Club Brugge: Nordin Jackers - Kyriani Sabbe, Brandon Mechele, Zaid Romero, Maxim De Cuyper (66' Joaquin Seys) - Raphael Onyedika (66' Ardon Jashari), Casper Nielsen (76' Hugo Vetlesen), Hans Vanaken - Chemsdine Talbi (88' Joel Ordóñez), Romeo Vermant, Christos Tzolis (76' Michał Skóraś).
Bench: Simon Mignolet, Dani van den Heuvel, Joaquin Seys, Joel Ordóñez, Hugo Siquet, Hugo Vetlesen, Ardon Jashari, Michał Skóraś, Ferran Jutglà, Andreas Skov Olsen.
Coach: Nicky Hayen.
Yellow cards: Kis, Vanaken, Skóraś, Ordóñez
Red cards: none
Goals: 13' Nielsen (0-1), 31' Van Eenoo (1-1), 48' Vanaken (1-2), 81' Jashari (1-3)