Club Brugge takes home the three points after a crazy couple of minutes Achter de Kazerne. Post-match reactions are from Hans Vanaken and Nicky Hayen.
Hans Vanaken: ""Confidence and a touch of luck"
A win by the smallest of margins for Club against KV Mechelen, but in the second half it really was sink or swim. It was only deep into extra time that Joel Ordóñez headed in the 1-2. Hans Vanaken was clearly satisfied afterwards with Club's narrow victory.
"It came down to taking that last free kick well and for us to run in well. Max (De Cuyper) brought the ball perfectly into the Mechelen sixteen and Joel (Ordóñez) headed it in rock hard and that's how we were able to win at Mechelen 1-2 after all," captain Hans Vanaken analysed Club's winning goal.
"After their late equalizer in the 95th minute it maybe looked like we wouldn't win here, but you see what confidence and a touch of luck can do. I think we actually should have scored the 0-1 in the opening minute, but after that we were master and commander without creating any real big chances. That penalty allowed us to take a 0-1 lead going into halftime. In the second half we had less possession and fewer chances. Actually it was a game with few opportunities on both sides but you certainly don't hear me complaining, quite the contrary."
"Of course it's nice statistics-wise that we are now in a series of ten games without a loss, but that's all it is. We do feel that we are in a good flow, like in the playoffs last season where everything was a bit of a fluke, but I'd rather have it this way than otherwise, of course. We are a team that always tries to win and we want to continue along those lines from now until New Year's, by which time we can rest a bit. Of course we know that until then we still have to play some very important fixtures such as the one coming Tuesday at home against Sporting Lisbon for the Champions League, which we hope to win again."
Nicky Hayen: "Not deserved, but none the less pleasing"
Club Brugge went through dire straits against KV Mechelen, conceding the equalizer in injury time, but still able to snatch away that victory in the absolute dying seconds. "I think in the end our first action of the game was our best," said Nicky Hayen.
"It was an unmissable chance that allowed us to take the lead after just one minute. Football-wise we were quite well in the first half. The game went back and forth, without many excellent chances for either side. We then had that penalty situation just before halftime, which gave us a flattered lead at that point. In the second half, however, we completely sank away. It was KV Mechelen that dominated and found the free man, pushing us back. We adjusted our system to restore the balance. But instead of defending forward, we kept creeping backwards and then you're just a sitting duck, waiting for that goal to fall. Which, at that point, was also overly-deserved for KV Mechelen. Then you might be satisfied that you could leave here with a point, but when that last free kick came, you try to go for it. It went in and you take the unexpected three points. It was totally undeserved, but that doesn't make it any less pleasing." "We knew this was a very treacherous away game. Sometimes you also have to be satisfied with a win after a very ugly game. Does this give confidence toward the Champions League based on the level of play? No, but this victory obviously gives a mental boost. Now it comes down to recovering as much as possible and getting the guys fresh again. Some players started on the bench today, because you need to take load management into account, you don't want to overload the players. You also have to try and make the right choices. Right now that's working out pretty well. The results speak in our favor, regardless of today's level of play. On Tuesday, we'll take another look at who is the freshest."