DObviously nothing is ever really simple in Standard. The Rouches won 2-1 but came very close to disaster this afternoon against Sint-Truiden.
After a very convincing first half which the Liégeois concluded by scoring 2 goals. Zeqiri first opened the scoring by tapping in a superb cross from O’Neill on the half-hour mark before scoring a penalty 10 minutes later.
In the second half, Sint-Truiden came back with better intentions and Standard completely faded away. The Canaries reduced the gap in the 70th via Dumont. Standard then suffered for 20 minutes and even conceded the equalizer following a huge blunder by Epolo in added time. But this goal was canceled for offside and Standard finally held on.
With this victory, the Rouches return to 7th place, tied with Westerlo.
Highlights of the meeting:
Standard came into the match very well. After only 4 minutes, a nice combination between Fossey and Price on the right flank brought the first chance of the game. But the Northern Irishman’s shot missed.
The Liégeois concluded their great period of domination by opening the score at the half-hour mark. O’Neill received the ball on the right flank and delivered a magnificent cross into the second zone. Zeqiri passed the defender and opened the scoring.
7 minutes later, Sint-Truiden created a big chance of coming back to score. On a quick reconversion, Bertaccini was in a very good position but it took a good intervention from Epolo to prevent the Canaries from equalizing.
What a save from Kokubo to keep Sint-Truiden in the match. 5 minutes before the break, Sotiris collected the ball at the edge of the area, played with two players before unleashing a magnificent strike. The Japanese goalkeeper intervened perfectly.
After this strike from Sotiris, a penalty was finally awarded to Liege for a foul on Ayensa, after intervention by the VAR. Zeqiri took charge of transforming it and scored a double to make the break.
Standard’s first real error in this match in the 70th minute. Lawrence received a complicated ball from Camara behind. Instead of clearing the ball, the Briton tried to play clean. He lost the leather to Patris. In a nice triangle game, Dumont received the ball at the entrance to the rectangle. He finished with a nice shot into the top corner.
What a huge blunder from Epolo in injury time. The goalkeeper completely failed by trying to kick the ball rather than catching it. Bertaccini passed by, pressed the goalkeeper and equalized. The goal was ultimately ruled out for offside.
