After defeating Waasland-Beveren 2-0 last week, and almost certainly securing their spot in the final qualifying round of the Europa League, beating Brondby 3-0, Club Bruges came into this match as clear favourites.
Five minutes in however, things seemed to go a different direction, with Lierse almost scoring, and generally pushing back the home side. Club reacted via Castillo, but he lacked precision to finish the job. Lierse-goalie Berezovsky had to react quickly to a cannon-shot by De Bock, but other than that, Bruges didn’t bring much to the pitch.
Right before half-time though, Bruges-winger Refaelov sought the ground just outside the box, received a free kick and proceeded to curl it in beautifully. Bruges was in the lead, but one goal wasn’t enough to be sure. Meunier was at the end of a smooth combination, but his shot was deflected by Berezovsky.
Shortly after the break, Bruges nearly doubled their lead. Duarte’s header, as well as Mechele’s rebound, were blocked. The rest that followed was forty-five minutes of increasing sloppiness, with neither side really amounting to anything. Lierse lost a man when Buysens got his second yellow, after which the motivation to attack completely disappeared with both teams. Bruges gingerly drove the game to the final whistle, and kept the three points home.
Source: DSG
