Again no win for KAA Gent. At home against KV Oostende, Andrew Hjulsager erased his ex-club’s early opening goal. But there was nothing more to it than that. Getting to the top 4 will be a tough job for Vanhaezebrouck and co.
AA Gent – KV Oostende in a nutshell:
- Key moment: Only more than fifteen minutes before the end does the Ghent quest for the equalizer yield something. Thanks to a wonderful pass from Samoise, who offers Hjulsager the 1-1 on a silver platter.
- Man of the match: He had to wait a long time for it, but Andrew Hjulsager made his first goal for AA Gent against his ex-team. A deserved goal, because the Dane worked hard throughout the game and regularly created a threat.
- Debatable moment: In the 65th minute, Castro-Montes Duncan is too quick and the American pulls the emergency brake. At Ghent they want a second yellow card, but referee Staessens sticks to a free kick.
- Remarkable: After 4 consecutive league defeats in the Ghelamco Arena, Ostend can finally pick up something in Ghent. It had been on its way to a victory for a long time, they have been waiting for that since 2018. Then KVO defeated Gent at home with 2-3.
- Spicy program: Ghent continues to look for its first win in 2022 and faces a crucial period in the battle for the Champions’ Play-offs. It will receive Antwerp on Sunday, next week it will have to go to Club Brugge. In addition, the first leg of the semi-finals in the cup against Club awaits in between.
Early goal Ambrose, Hubert and post prevent equalizer
In order not to completely lose the role in the battle for the Champions’ Play-offs, Ghent could not afford another loss of points after 3 points division. That realization did not seem to seep through, because Ghent started the match very weakly.
The home team received a strong warning after just 5 minutes when McGeehan went just wide on a corner. A few minutes later it was still hit for Ostend. Godeau let himself be lost by D’Haese and Ambrose finished it off cleanly: 0-1.
Gent had most of the ball, but was only dangerous for the first time after more than half an hour. After a piece of art by Samoise, Castro-Montes struck hard, Hubert saved Ostend. A few minutes later, Castro-Montes took on the role of declarant, now it was the post that kept Bruno from the equalizer.
Hjulsager breaks the spell, Hubert keeps KVO upright
Grab Ostend right by the throat at the start of the second half? No, Ghent did not succeed in that at all. The absence of strong holders Odjidja, Depoitre and Tissoudali was once again felt by the home team.
Ostend left possession of the ball to Ghent and easily held on. Bruno’s place ball went just wide, a deflected shot by Hjulsager suffered the same fate. The visitors did not have to endure more, although Duncan did escape a second yellow card after a foul on Castro-Montes.
More than fifteen minutes before the end, the one-way traffic led to a goal. Samoise delivered a brilliant pass and Hjulsager finally headed his first goal for Gent.
The Dane almost made his second, but after a well-played attack he fired headlong into Hubert. The goalkeeper was once again a lifesaver for KVO in the final phase when Lemajic was unable to take advantage of Duncan’s fumbling. It remained 1-1, the fourth draw in a row for Ghent and a boost for Ostend after the 0 on 6.
Vanhaezebrouck: “This was a small hold-up”
- Hein Vanhaezebrouck (trainer AA Gent): “The boys don’t deserve this. We had 70 percent possession, 18 goals against 4. This was a small hold-up, but that’s football and we don’t have to make excuses. I’ve seen some very good performances anyway, it’s a shame for the group. They threw themselves, but it just didn’t work out. That getting to the top 4 is going to be difficult this way? If you take Undav, Vanzeir and Teuma or Nielsen away from Union they might be 8th in the league. It’s very simple, you don’t have to ask any questions. That’s just a statement. We could have done a fantastic job by getting 2 points closer to those 4 teams above us. That didn’t work out, but we’ll keep going for it and then we’ll see.”
- Markus Plant (trainer KV Oostende): “Maybe it’s a flattered draw for us, but a point is a point. We fought hard for it. We wanted to surprise Ghent by putting a lot of pressure in the beginning. It’s a shame we only scored once. We want to play defensively as a compact team. We succeeded against Antwerp and again today. We must continue on this path. The next goal is to bring more offensively as well.”
