Bad start of the play-offs with 0-2 defeat

GAMES Anderlecht took a bad start in play-off 1 with a 0-2 defeat against Ghent. That way, the Mauves now share the second place with Ghent. The gap with Bruges immediately enlarges from six to nine points.

The visitors took the best start and had a few excellent chances. The best one was for Dejaegere, but he aimed too hight. Anderlecht reacted after 15 minutes of play and took over the command of the match. Though at half time, the home side was lucky to make it with a 0-0 score as Kalu also came close to scoring.

Directly after the break, Ghent scored through Dejaegere: 0-1. Anderlecht reacted slowly, but lacked creativity to do something about the scoreline. Morioka could have turned the tide, but his ball struck the upright. Spajic claimed a penalty, the video referee was consulted, but the ball wasn't placed on the penalty spot. 

Ghent counter attacked and a mistake of Dendoncker almost led to 0-2. Eventually, coach Vanhaezebrouck took risks, replacing two defensive players for Ganvoula and Markovic. It didn't produce any goals, on the contrary: in the last minute Spajic pulled down Verstraete in the box. Kubo missed the resulting penalty, but did score in the rebound: 0-2.