AA Gent It was a poor European evening. After a very poor performance, he lost the second leg of qualifying round 2–0 against Valerenga. But thanks to last week’s 4-0 win, the defeat was left without consequences.
Valerenga – Ghent in short
- Key moment: After 4-0 last week, this match is no longer important. Gent seems very lukewarm and can barely control the humble Valerenga.
- man of the match: An old acquaintance of Jupiler Pro League. Henrik Bjordal, a former Zolt Wargem, pulled the strings in the Norwegians’ midfield and took some hard hits.
- noticeable: Ghent and artificial turf, not the best combination. After Sunday’s 2-1 at Stein, Buffalo now also falters at the Intility Arena in Oslo. Or was it due to the many personnel changes?
Luxegent is lagging behind
Hein Vanhaezebrouck pointed out in advance some recent remontadas in European football, more out of sporting courtesy than out of fear of opponent Valerenga. However, he has made a drastically altered squad, with no fewer than six players who were not at the start of the game against STVV at the weekend.
This redesigned team didn’t start out very sharply. She was overtaken by enthusiast Valerenga, who had nothing to lose and was cheered on by 2,000 fans at the Intility Arena. Their efforts were rewarded after ten minutes. In a chaotic phase in front of Rove’s goal, a shot from Al Sahraoui hit Okumo’s leg, causing the ball to disappear into the roof of the goal.
Of course, with an aggregate score of 4-1, there was still a problem, but Ghent’s inability to launch attacks was troubling. Tissoudali then dodged himself for a chance and collided with goalkeeper Haug. On the other hand, Roef saved an attempt from Bjørdal and took advantage of Tollas at close range. In the first half the balance was very negative for the buffalo.
Valerian comes out with his head held high
With de Sarthe and Bayeux replacing Vadis and Depuetry, who are playing poorly, Ghent emerged from the locker room with a gauntlet. Not a bad idea in light of the Belgian lab. The enthusiasm of the visitors provided a great opportunity. Haug didn’t push the Bayo pop far enough, and De Sart and Nurio couldn’t take advantage of the bounce at close range.
However, this violent impulse was not pursued. Gent quickly returned to restricted football before the break and allowed Valerenga to take matters into his own hands again. With a twisted free kick from Borchgrevink and another sinister shot from Bjørdal, the Norwegians looked to be shooting their best. The match faded into a goalless back-and-forth game.
Suddenly, another line of tension appeared. After Nassberg won 2-0, which was allowed to head very simply, Ghent began to shiver for a while. Fortunately, it is not dangerous anymore, but Buffalo could have expected more from this painful and frankly desperate defeat in Oslo.
Vanhaezebrouck: ‘We did what we had to do’
Hein Vanhaezebrouck was remarkably nice to his group of players after the mediocre game in Norway. “The result is good, because we are moving forward. But of course we would have preferred it differently,” said Gent’s coach.
“This was the match I was expecting. The home team tried to score quickly and you have to avoid that. We didn’t make it, but the match was more balanced after that.”
“We needed a goal to kill the match, but that goal wasn’t achieved. In the second half we didn’t give anything – except for that 2-0.”
“I would have preferred to win, but you know the opponent is going to be very sharp because of that 4-0 and we felt a lot of substitutions. That’s normal, it’s not wrong. Boys with a lower rhythm should take advantage of these opportunities.”
Ghent already lost to Stein on Sunday and thus swallowed a second loss today. Does that leave traces? “I don’t think so. We did what we had to do: qualify. We have to be strong again on Sunday.”
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