Also against the Pallieters, Club NXT U23 could not win. After fifteen minutes, K. Lierse S.K. took the lead. After a lesser first half, Club NXT U23 could not beat goalkeeper Kiany Vroman, ex-Club NXT player, in a strong second half. Thus, Blauw-Zwart remains in search of their first three-peat.
With K. Lierse S.K., Club NXT U23 got an opponent they usually won from in recent years. So it was the moment to reap the first three-pointers. Captain Goemaere played in defense just as he did against Barcelona. The match started quietly. Only after ten minutes Gomez gave an assist to Buifrahi who kicked over the cover. On the opposite side, De Corte was able to corner a shot by Mayoka-Tika into the bottom left corner. He grabbed the header afterwards. Shortly after, Daguin was able to pass the ball to Lenaerts who was able to shoot at goal from the center of the box and net the 0-1 through the legs of the sitting De Corte. During this phase, De Corte hurt himself and after being taken care of on the field, was replaced by Thibeau Kestemont. This young goalie unexpectedly made his professional debut. Lierse pressed on after the goal in search of a reassuring double lead. First El Touile kicked the ball wide of the goal. Then Kestemont saved an effort from the center of the goal. Our young goalie was immediately playing with confidence. A quick attack allowed Adinany to go for goal alone, but fortunately for Blauw-Zwart his shot went wide! With half-time in sight, Club NXT U23 gradually came close to Vroman. Van Acker saw his shot blocked. An attempt by Amengai from just outside the penalty area was also blocked. So we went to rest with a small deficit and Club NXT U23 gradually took control of the match.
At the start of the second half Verlinden and Koren joined the team at the expense of Marloye and Buifrahi. The first chances were for the visitors, but without seriousness. Club NXT U23 also started eagerly in search of at least the equalizer. After a combination with Lund Jensen, Amengai was able to pop at goal, but Vroman floated the ball out of the air. Our young Slovenian regularly showed his speed and after evading some opponents he shot at goal. Goalkeeper Vroman had little trouble with it. Both Goemaere and Lund Jensen were blocked each time afterwards. Granados had a nice opportunity to show his talent via a free kick. But this time his shot was too weak to surprise Vroman. Lierse suddenly found themselves advancing after fifteen minutes and Osuji was able to clear the ball from Lenaerts with an ultimate intervention. Another attack ended at Koren who kicked the ball across goal. Van Acker popped in turn but Vroman floated the ball out of the goal. Musuayi was also at the cannon. The leather bounced off the crossbar and in the rebound Koren could not get it past Vroman. The visiting goalkeeper really played a strong match against his real team. Our Dane Lund Jensen was also stopped twice. Still, Club NXT U23 did not give up. The will to score and still win was strong in the team. Lierse defended its small lead. A shot from substitute Van Britsom was again kept out of the goal by the Lierse goalie. Koren also failed to get the ball against the nets. The clock kept ticking and the end of the match was approaching. A counter attack by Lierse fortunately ended on the post. Club NXT U23 threw themselves fully into the fray in search of a goal. El Touile challenged captain Goemaere who quickly wanted to take a free kick. Our captain therefore pushed off the Lierse player. Theatrically he fell and the referee shoved a second yellow card under Goemaere's nose. Yet Club NXT U23 created another giant chance. Musuayi kicked handsomely toward goal, but Vroman already grabbed the ball again. In the ultimate seconds of the match, even our goalie Kestemont had to save a shot by Daguin. Thus, the final score remained 0-1. After the international break, Club NXT U23 has to visit Sporting Lokeren. Is the first victory waiting there?
Club NXT U23: Axl De Corte (20' Thibeau Kestemont), Sacha Marloye (46' Wout Verlinden), Laurens Goemaere, Vince Osuji, Samuel Gomez Van Hoogen, Thibaut Van Acker, Alejandro Granados (78' Lucas Delorge), Tobias Lund Jensen, Naïm Amengai (73' Jakke Van Britsom), Rayan Buifrahi (46' Tian Nai Koren), Yanis Musuayi.
Bank: Jano Willems, Gianluca Okon, Renzo Tytens, Alexander Vandeperre.
Coach: Jonas De Roeck.
K. Lierse S.K.: Kiany Vroman, Wout De Buyser, Pietro Perdichizzi (32' Sam Vanderhallen), Bo De Kerf, Vincent De Vos, Samih El Touile, Dirk Asara, Victor Daguin, Bryan Adinany, Mauro Lenaerts (89' Cedric Van Meirvenne), Noam Mayoka-Tika (67' Emmanuel Matuta).
Bench: Jarno De Smet, Dylan Demuynck, Mansour Sy, Hugo Masaki, Yann Gboua, Noah De Ridder.
Coach: Jamath Shoffner.
Goals: 16' Lenaerts 0-1.
Yellow cards: 27' Mayoke-Tika.
Red card: 16' and 90' Goemaere (2x yellow).
Referee: Anaik Jacoby.
Stadium: The NEST, Roeselare.
Spectators: 498.