KAA Gent just beat Club Brugge 3-2 at the Jan Breydel Stadium...
With their victory, Gent made three huge achievements:
- they put one over their Flanders rivals by giving them their first home defeat at home this season
- they effectively killed Club Brugge's chances of winning the Premier League - there is now five points between the two clubs with two games remaining; and,
- inched closer to their first Premier League title
If, and it is a big if, Anderlecht fails to win against Standard Liège later today, Gent will only need one more victory to become champions.
Deserved Victory
The game began as every game in the play offs has so far for Club Brugge - they fell behind 1-0. Today's game was the eight consecutive game Club Brugge has conceded the first goal.
It was a simple goal, too. Benito Raman capped off some good wide-play with a low cross in from Gent's right-side, which found Neto who's clash with Brugge's Goalkeeper, Matty Ryan, deflected the ball up and over the stranded keeper and Lasse Nielsen finished it off just on the goal-line to make sure.
Brugge pulled back seven minutes before half-time. Izquierdo's surging run to the byline was capped off with a neat finish from Ruud Vormer.
Gent almost went 2-1 up right after the second-half whistle, Raman capitalised on shocking defending and forced Ryan into a good, jumping save.
The Buffalo's eventually regained the lead when, from a long way out, and in oceans of space, Brech Dejaegere picked up the ball for Gent and marched unchallenged towards the Brugge box, Unbelievably nobody showed for Club Brugge, giving Dejaegere all the time in the world to line up his shot and when he hit the ball from roughly 25 metres out, Brugge's Duarte finally showed and made a challenge. The ball deflected off of Duarte and the ball looped over the a speechless Matty Ryan.
Gent's GK Matz Sels was equal to almost everything that Club Brugge threw at him at the beginning of the second-half. Sels made three good saves from Club Brugge players turning infield from their left-side and hitting inwards-curling shots with their right-foot. Gent's right-side of defence showed some signs of weakness and were lucky to have Sels in such strong form.
Brugge made it 2-2 when Ruud Vormer acrobatically volleyed in Vazquez's cross, which came from the interplay after a short corner. Interestingly enough, Brugge won the corner from an Izquierdo shot from just inside the box that he hit with the inside of his right foot.
At 2-2, you began to fancy the game to end in a draw. The Unibet odds came across my screen around the 85th-minute, showing Gent as 7.5/1 to win the game, for instance. But two minutes later, some neat work on Gent’s left-flank by a combination of Asare, Simon and Van Der Bruggen who’s one-two with Asare split the Brugge defence, allowed Asare to reach the byline, pull back the ball where Raman was waiting. He first hit the ball straight at Ryan, Ryan’s save then fell kindly on Raman’s head and his deft pointed header was directed to the back-post, 3-2.
Gent held on and were deserved winners in the end. After the game, interviews with Club Brugge's captain Tom De Sutter, and their manager Michiel Preud'homme painted two exhausted and despondent figures. Club Brugge has had a long season what with the Europe League and domestic cup runs. Preud'homme in the end put the defeat down to defensive errors but in my view that takes a lot of merit away from Gent's performance. After all, this was Club Brugge's first defeat in the league at home all season.
Gent's Rami Gershon was more effusive in his post-match interview, he explained to the interview that, while it is not over yet, he feels no JPL team has played better football throughout the season than Gent. It is hard to disagree with him. Gent's manager, Hein Vanhaezebrouck reiterated that it is not over yet but took great pride in saying that his team came and played at Brugge - not many do that. He is not wrong.
