GAMES Anderlecht are still very much alive in Europe. They won convincingly 0-3 in Bialystok after a strong first half and an efficient second half. Cvetkovic, Winkler and Onia Seke scored the goals. Anderlecht immediately took control of the match this time.
They pressed high and won the ball back quickly in the Polish half, where the home side at times sat very deep. That led to several attempts on goal, including efforts from Degreef and Ambros. Reabciuk also tried his luck with a half-volley after 15 minutes, but it went half a metre wide. After 20 minutes, that high press paid off with a goal. A disastrous pass from Bialystok was intercepted by Cvetkovic, who did not hesitate and neatly guided the ball into the net with the tip of his foot. After falling behind, the Poles did threaten occasionally. Biancone made a timely tackle to defuse a potentially dangerous move, and Coosemans had to be alert to stop a powerful shot. Anderlecht were less threatening after the 0-1, although there were still efforts from Barry and Winkler.
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Continue reading The second half started more awkwardly for Anderlecht, who played with greater caution. Bialystok looked to go forward more quickly and sometimes managed it through substitute Sow. Coosemans had to intervene smartly to keep out a chance from Prelec. A few minutes later, Anderlecht should have made it 0-2, but Degreef put his shot wide. On the hour, the visitors escaped punishment. Biancone, who played strongly after returning from injury, lightly clipped Sow as he broke through, but the referee fortunately, and rightly, judged that the forward had gone down too easily. Just over ten minutes later, Winkler removed plenty of doubt by making it 0-2 with a left-footed finish into the far corner after a turnover by the Poles.
Substitute Onia Seke then put the icing on the cake by keeping his composure eight minutes later and placing the ball perfectly inside the post. With those two fine goals, Anderlecht secured their first three points in this season's Europa League group. All in all, it was a deserved victory for a purple-and-white side that was more than decent at times, although the weakness of the opposition naturally played a part as well. But this time Anderlecht took the win, whereas they let it slip away in Croatia last week. On Sunday, a top-of-the-table clash awaits away to Gent.
