GAMES Anderlecht had to toil until the very last minute against Beerschot. It eventually won deservedly 2-1 with a goal by Anders Dreyer in minute 92. Anderlecht played very weak before halftime and could breathe a sigh of relief when Verschaeren (also in extra time) netted the equalizer just before halftime after Al-Sahafi (him again) had headed Beerschot into the lead early. After halftime, Anderlecht put more pressure and - without playing well admittedly - finally got the three points in the closing stages.
Anderlecht played a very weak first half in which it only seemed to wake up in the added time. The substitute Verschaeren (for an injured Stroeykens) scored the equalizer at the last minute on a cross from Foket.
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Continue reading Anderlecht struggled against Beerschot. The Rats took the lead in the seventh minute through Al-Sahafi, who gave Beerschot nightmares in the first match. Colassin had all the time in the world to send a ball to his fellow attacker. Al-Sahafi, who was also left all alone, cleverly headed over Coosemans in goal.
Anderlecht could hardly react and fumbled happily. It played far too sloppy and far too slow to be dangerous. What followed were barely a few half chances, the best of which Amuzu decided too weakly on Shinton. Meanwhile, Beerschot itself got another good chance through Verlinden.
Anderlecht started slightly better after halftime. Dolberg could not decide twice before the hour after being hindered (wrongly?) in the penalty area. On the hour, Verschaeren hit the post with a long shot, Amuzu popped the rebound from a sharp angle just wide.
Anderlecht did put Beerschot under pressure, but there were no big chances, so time was running out. Hubert brought on Vazquez for Rits in the closing stages, but the chances for the pair became more and more scarce. In the extra time, the team stepped up the pressure again, which resulted in 2-1. Vazquez headed in, Dreyer controlled and slid in the goal.
A narrow, but more than deserved victory from a rather weak Anderlecht tonight, although Beerschot's candle had already burned out after 45 minutes. Taking three points in a lesser match is very important. The physical succession of matches (and the poor pitch) may be starting to take its toll.
