League

Eagles Nest
Spectators: 5000 (Terracing: 4000, Seating: 1000, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Koen Wellens took the kick off in the first half of the match. In the 3rd minute, Koen Wellens made a precise shot to the right of Frederic Waeberghe. Birmingham United's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 0-1. Mathias-Alexander Van Eersel sent away a hard shot on goal in the 9th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. If Dolf Van Kelf had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 10th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Jakob Hendrickx was in the perfect position, and the defense had done a good job marking him, but Chris-George De Coster showcased his skills and made a perfect shot to score 1-1 in the 12 minute of play. After a defensive mix-up in Birmingham United's zone, Koen Wellens stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Frederic Waeberghe came out of the goal and Koen Wellens tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Thanks to some nice moves Chris-George De Coster could shoot a difficult shot in the 20th minute, which Jakob Hendrickx however easily saved by the left post. STVV373's goalkeeper couldn't reach when Mathias-Alexander Van Eersel 21 minutes into the game got a good kick on the ball which found its way into goal just inside left pole. 2-1. Chris-George De Coster kicked well hit freekick during the 24th minute of the match. STVV373's Jakob Hendrickx played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Mathias-Alexander Van Eersel in the 27th minute of play. Jakob Hendrickx made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Mathias-Alexander Van Eersel in the 29th minute of play. Mathias-Alexander Van Eersel sent away a hard shot on goal in the 36th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. Kevin Pellegrims kicked well hit freekick during the 37th minute of the match. After having played for 39 minutes, Mathias-Alexander Van Eersel managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Birmingham United's supporters crossed their fingers, but Mathias-Alexander Van Eersel was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. When Koen Wellens fell near the penalty area in the 41st minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored STVV373's protests and gave Koen Wellens a yellow card for diving instead. After 41 played minutes STVV373 got a freekick which was hit by Koen Wellens. Mathias-Alexander Van Eersel received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 43rd minute. Jakob Hendrickx tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Chris-George De Coster's shot straight on target was not completely harmless. The ball had pretty good speed, but Jakob Hendrickx firmly grabbed it by the left post. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Mathias-Alexander Van Eersel in the 45th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Jakob Hendrickx prevented the ball from getting in the gole. In the 47th minute, Chris-George De Coster got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. After a very even first half the match was still tied. The players went to their respective dressing rooms to discuss the tactics for the second half.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Mathias-Alexander Van Eersel to strike the kick off in the second half. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Mathias-Alexander Van Eersel in the 53rd managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Jakob Hendrickx saved STVV373 from getting behind. In the 54th match minute, STVV373 was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Joeri Maerschalks to maneuver through the defense. Jakob Hendrickx stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Mathias-Alexander Van Eersel's shot from short distance in the 55th minute. The supporters of Birmingham United booed when STVV373 was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 57 match minutes in a wonderful position. Joeri Maerschalks didn't get a good kick on the ball. After 58 minutes of play, Birmingham United's Chris-George De Coster made it 3-2 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Jakob Hendrickx was left in no man's land by his defense there! An unexpectedly hard shot by Chris-George De Coster in the 64th minute of play forced STVV373's goalkeeper Jakob Hendrickx to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 76th minute, Mathias-Alexander Van Eersel left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Birmingham United fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 4-2. In the 82nd minute Mathias-Alexander Van Eersel shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Jakob Hendrickx saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Mathias-Alexander Van Eersel fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 85th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Jakob Hendrickx having to interfere. In the 87th minute, Mathias-Alexander Van Eersel got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. After some careless play in the STVV373 defense, Mathias-Alexander Van Eersel kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Jakob Hendrickx. The STVV373 fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Jakob Hendrickx should have stopped the shot. Jakob Hendrickx took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Chris-George De Coster, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. When Birmingham United's Mathias-Alexander Van Eersel in the 95th minute got a chance for a shot 95th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye STVV373's goalie prevented a goal.