The first league match of 2022 ended 2-2. AA Gent dominated, but had to chase after a quick goal from Mbayo. The home team turned the tables with goals just before and after the break, but failed to finish it. In the 91st minute, Mbayo punished that. AA Gent fails to come in 4th place next to Antwerp, Kortrijk remains 8th.
KAA Gent – KV Kortrijk in a nutshell:
- Key moment: In the extra time, Ghent seems to be heading for a first three-pointer in 2022. However, that is not counted on Dylan Mbayo. In the 91st minute, the Kortrijk player scored to make it 2-2.
- Man of the match: Dylan Mbayo scored his first goals in the first division tonight. He did that against his ex-team Gent. It is therefore not far to find the man of the match.
- Remarkable: Before tonight, Ghent could not win once in the last 3 competition matches against Kortrijk. That didn’t work for the Buffalos tonight either. So 4 games without a win for Ghent against Kortrijk.
Ghent is still correcting the crooked situation
“We are already happy that we can draft 11 players.” Karim Belhocine explained before the game that he had to put together a difficult puzzle due to the many absentees (corona or Africa Cup). Hein Vanhaezebrouck also had to miss Ngadeu and man-in-form Tissoudali. The 2 strong holders are both active in the Africa Cup. And the Ghent coach also had corona concerns. Both trainers therefore directed to postpone the match. In vain.
Gent immediately took matters into their own hands. It was therefore a surprise that the 0-1 quickly flickered on the scoreboard. Already after 8 minutes Mbayo (nota bene an ex-player of Ghent) started a long dribble. Finally, he slalomed his way between some Buffalos and gave Bolat the check.
Ghent was not at all upset. Quite the contrary. They created a lot of opportunities, but the sights were not yet sharp. Hjulsager put Ilic to work once and Kums also tried it from a distance. Each time without result. Ilic also had to whip a free kick from De Sart out of his goal area.
But persistence wins. On the stroke of half-time, the deserved equalizer was finally a fact. After a corner kick, the ball fell at the feet of Castro-Montes and he gave goalkeeper Ilic the check.
Buffalo’s spilling with the odds
Up and about it was what they thought at the Buffalos and they carried on with the same zest after coffee. Successfully. Samoise painted the leather on Mboyo’s crown from his right flank. The striker did not miss such an opportunity and headed in nicely.
Ghent dominated and also created a lot of opportunities. Only the efficiency was missing. Kums put the best chance just wide.
Still, the home team still had to squeeze their butt in the final phase. Gent first escaped the equalizer when Kadri charged at Bolat alone. The goalkeeper of Ghent had the last word with a sweep of his foot.
At least that’s what everyone thought anyway, but that hadn’t been calculated for Mbayo. The Kortrijk player outsmarted Bolat for the second time with a subtle marker ball after a passing ball.
Gent lets 2 expensive points slip through the fingers, for Kortrijk it is a golden point due to the circumstances.
Vanhaezebrouck: “It’s sour to take the equalizer that way”
- Dylan Mbayo (KV Kortrijk): “I’m here with mixed feelings. Unfortunately we drew a draw. Of course we came for more. But I’m also happy with my 2 goals. This is just the beginning. It’s been a while since I played myself. Whenever I’m on the pitch, I show it to everyone. Which of the goals is the best? I don’t have a favorite. The most important thing is that I scored 2 goals and I helped the team. It wasn’t easy today Ghent plays very nice football. It was difficult for us to find solutions.”
- Hein Vanhaezebrouck (KAA Ghent): “We may have had more chances, but we didn’t finish them well. Just not. But you can’t concede that goal that way. Through the center, through the heart of the defense with a simple pass from 10 meters straight ahead. That is allowed no. But okay, that must also have its reasons. That the boys standing there, are not normally there. We intervened in the end by bringing Cissé. Someone who has also been sick and was not able to then 10 to 15 minutes to play. In the end we let ourselves be caught in a very simple way. As a defender you always have to keep your center close. It’s sour to take the equalizer in that way.”
- Karim Belhocine (KV Kortrijk): “In the circumstances of this match, this is a good point. It is a deserved point for the players. They pushed on. There were 2 players who came in (Kadri and Moreno) who didn’t have minutes in their legs. Today they are out quarantine. I can only congratulate those guys. Mbayo is someone who has 3 or 4 training sessions in the legs. He also had Covid last week. He scores a goal all the way here solo. At the end he was really tired. We decided to put him in front of the striker, so that he would have 1 or 2 more chances. He finished it nicely.”
