Before that, they had doubled the meetings, between regular phase and playoffs, six times, in ten seasons, between 2009 and 2020, taking the pleasure to the point of facing each other six times in 2010-11, with the semi-finals. Belgian Cup finals (1-0; 4-2 for Standard).
It was a season where Standard had been close to the double and a period where it knew how to gain the upper hand over a Ghent rival whom it had beaten seven times in seventeen matches with, as a highlight, a great success (7-0) in the European play-off, which was as much Mircea Rednic’s last match as the announcement of the first problems for Roland Duchâtelet, the president at the time.
“I have number 6, but I want to be decisive like an 8”, how Sotiris Alexandropoulos convinced Sclessin in 70 minutes
A ruthless success in the last twelve matches
La Gantoise has never been Standard’s favorite opponent, however, and the last few seasons have confirmed this trend. In the last twelve matches, the Rouches have only won once. It was last season, in Sclessin.
A 4-2 success, after being down 0-1, thanks to a double from Kelvin Yeboah and goals from Wilfried Kanga and Hayao Kawabe, as many players have since left. There are only four left, in fact, present on March 2 and who will be at the kick-off in Ghent this Sunday: Epolo, Hautekiet, O’Neill and Price.
Trips to Ghent have often been a pain for Standard, swept eight times including seven times by a two-goal margin, only picking up a draw (0-0) a few days before Christmas 2022. The shares have rarely sanctioned Standard – Ghent matches, in fact, barely 6 in 51 confrontations.
This is the promise of a winner on Sunday, even if the recent results do not plead in favor of Standard since their last success at the Ghelamco Arena dates from April 3, 2019, in playoffs 1 (1-2).
Stats reversed from one half to the other, a clear decline: how to explain the two faces of Standard in the same match? Standard: a little more than twenty million losses in the next assessment.
