Charleroi won 1-0 against Westerlo. A liberation for the Zebras, who are leaving the red zone.
Charleroi was eagerly awaited for what sounded like a match of fear against Westerlo. A match for which Rik De Mil was deprived of Etienne Camara in midfield. Compared to the defeat at Cercle de Bruges, Sporting returned to a 4-4-2, with Isaac Mbenza alongside Oday Dabbagh at the forefront.
Dissatisfied with the management of the club, the Storm Ultras only, as they had announced, went down to the stands after twelve minutes. They missed almost nothing, except a very limited intervention of Yacine Titraoui after four minutes of play. Camara’s substitute did not have a bad match but could have been excluded from the start of the game if the referee had been a little more severe on his intervention with his foot raised very high on an ankle opponent.
The match took a while to start
For the rest, the first half took place at a fairly slow pace, following songs hostile to the zebra management. Charleroi still offered Mambourg some interesting ball returns but still lacked as much presence in the opposing rectangle. Defensively, Rik De Mil’s men conceded almost nothing, Westerlo landing his first strike (safely) just before half-time.
The second act gave birth to more opportunities. From the first minutes, Daan Heymans sent Antoine Bernier against Koen Van Langendonck, but the Campinois goalkeeper won his duel. A few moments later, Westerlo responded with a lob attempt from Griffin Yow well negotiated by Martin Delavallée.
But then the tempo dropped again. And it was when the Carolo attacking duo gave up their place, once again illustrating the team’s offensive problems, that Charleroi made the difference. On a bright opening ofAdem ZorganeHeymans let speak this spontaneity which had eluded him for several weeks, to relieve an entire group with a beautiful sequence in the rectangle (67th, 1-0).
Facing a Westerlo team that took a blow to the head, the Zebras continued their momentum with several other opportunities. But Koen Van Langendonck twice prevented Nikola Stulic from making the break.
Charleroi will not, however, have to blame itself: Westerlo was not in a great evening and allowed the Zebras to taste victory again for the first time since September 15. Sporting leaves the red zone and will spend the international break with a little more serenity. Even if the narrow victory will not solve everything, it will give Rik De Mil and his men a little more time.
