Anderlecht with another narrow win

GAMES Anderlecht won 0-1 at Sint-Truiden thanks to a header from Moussa N'Diaye. Purple and white played very weak before half-time, but they started better after half-time and scored. A red card for Dreyer (after an unfortunate foul) silenced Anderlecht's second half. Anderlecht defended the lead with a man less and STVV continued to threaten regularly, but Dupé and his defence kept the zero for the second time in a row. A good result, but the level really needs to go up.


After a balanced start, STVV went full steam ahead. Anderlecht had problems keeping the ball in their own ranks. After a quarter of an hour, a good save by Dupé was much needed on a shot by Kaya. A poor pass from Sardella led to another chance for the Limburgers, but Dupé was again at the ready. Anderlecht again acted very apathetic like at Union and came late into the duels. Meanwhile, Leoni had shot the only goal attempt for Purple White over goal.

After half an hour, the home team had to refuel and Anderlecht got some breathing space. Sloppiness or wrong decisions prevented any real chances. After 35' minutes, Amuzu clumsily headed wide on a half-low cross from Leoni. The level of the match dropped and Anderlecht could not complain with the 0-0 half-time score.

After half-time, Amuzu provided the first danger on a good long ball from N'Diaye. On the corner that followed, Patris had a great chance, but it was certainly not easy. After a clever variation on a free kick, Anderlecht climbed into the lead anyway. Dreyer crossed and N'Diaye headed the 0-1 past Schmidt.

However, the joy was short-lived. Dryer unhappily hit Bocat's Achilles tendon and after VAR intervention, Visser showed the red card. These days, it is known that VAR acts very strictly on such mistakes whether they are unconscious or not.

Moreover, after half-time, Patris and Koita, who flirted with a second yellow, caused some tough duels. In minute 67, a surprising shot by Dolberg landed not far wide. Moments later, STVV threatened for the first time after halftime through Koita, but Dupé stopped the shot and Sardella quickly cleared. Fifteen minutes before time, after earlier Arnstad, Kana and Raman also entered the field. A dangerous cross from Koita was turned into a corner by Sardella in minute 80. Kana cleverly launched Raman, but he had to swerve too fiercely. Visser then drew yellow for N'Diaye while the Senegalese simply slipped. STVV remained dangerous and Van Dessel was just a toe short of placing his foot against a cross.

The referee added as many as seven minutes to regular playing time. In it, Dupé had to defuse another dangerous ball from Koita. So Anderlecht won for the second time with the smallest difference and just like against Antwerp it was a fight to the very last minute. Whether Anderlecht could have continued the better start after half-time, we will never know, because the red card forced Purple-White to defend the lead. Anderlecht will hopefully mainly look back at the first half in which it again showed very little and was really pushed backwards by STVV. A good save by Dupé, for example, prevented Kaya's opening goal after 15 minutes.

Score: 0-1
Goal(s):0-1 N'Diaye 53'

STVV:Schmidt, Hashioka, Koita, Kaya (Okazaki 69'), Godeau, Ito (Barnes 90'), Smets, Delorge, Steuckers, Van Helden (Yamamoto 70'), Bocat (Van Dessel 60')
Anderlecht:Dupé, Patris, Sardella, Vertonghen, N'Diaye, Diawara (Kana 77'), Leoni, Stroeykens (Arnstad 60'), Dreyer, Amuzu (Raman 77'), Dolberg (Lonwijk 89')

Yellow: Van Helden 19', Stroeykens 21', Koita 60', Arnstad 68', N'Diaye 82', Delorge 86', Patris 90'+3, Barnes 90'+6
Red: Dreyer 55'

Referee: Lawrence Visser
Stadium: Stayen

Source: © Internal source