KV Mechelen immediately took control of the match and tried to play the block of the home team out of context. That resulted in almost 75 percent possession, but very few opportunities. After half an hour of searching and groping, Malinwa found an opening: Cuypers was in the right place to push Storm’s cross into the goal.
STVV only woke up after the 0-1. Konaté had the equalizer at the foot, but ran into Thoelen. Moments later, KVM defender Van Drongelen was the last man to make a mistake, but ref Put kept it to yellow, despite a call from the VAR.
After the break, the roles were reversed. STVV, now with Kagawa in the squad, took the initiative and pushed KV Mechelen back. On the hour, the home team also received a wage for work: Klauss rammed the equalizer into the roof of the goal on Hara’s cross.
Apart from a timid attempt by Cuypers, KV Mechelen was no longer involved. It was STVV that still unsuccessfully chased after the winning goal. Janssens and Kagawa were unable to capitalize on the best opportunities, Hara did not receive a penalty after a foul by Vanlerberghe.
Wouter Vrancken (coach KV Mechelen): “We completely dominated the first half. You know you are playing against a strong block, but we were able to take that lead. Then it is a shame that we make the wrong choices in the second half, which means that control is a bit lost . That wasn’t good enough.”
“I think we have to keep our feet on the ground. Sint-Truiden has drawn the second half in its own way, while the first half was for us. It’s that simple. The result is just right. I think that it is clear where our ambitions lie.”
Christian Bruels (STVV): “If you look at both halves, it is a fair result. With a little more luck, Kagawa’s ball will still go in at the end, but the keeper got it perfectly. How can you explain the difference between the first and the second half? Just because we played football in the second half. With every pass and every combination that works, you get more confidence. And with Kagawa’s input, we naturally also had more football ability in midfield. We now take 11 on 15 and just swallow 2 goals, so we can now work towards the game against Genk with great confidence.”
