The Red Flames started their decisive match against Ukraine in the style in which our colleagues from the VRT had to portray the match: with a technical problem. The match was barely thirty seconds in when the ‘home team’ – football was being played in Turkey – had a gigantic opportunity after poor clearance from the Belgians. Lichtfus was only able to prevent the opening goal.
The Flames corrected their problem faster than the Ukrainian management. After five minutes we saw – there was no sound in the first half hour – how the Belgians also got their first chance together. Wullaert tried from an oblique angle but saw her attempt turned away by Keliushyk. The Ukrainian goalkeeper also stood firm on Van Kerkhoven’s rebound.
After the opportunity in the opening phase, Ukraine had to limit itself to defending, the Belgians were now in charge. Halfway through the first half it was a prize for Van Kerkhoven. Just after the image went out for a moment, Janssen delivered a good cross from the left flank. Van Kerkoven did not hesitate and headed the 0-1 into the far corner.
Just past the half hour mark, the Flames seemed to be able to double their lead. This time Van Kerkhoven worked in an excellent cross from Wullaert. Unfortunately for the Belgians, the referee saw how the Feyenoord attacker was offside. We didn’t get a repeat.
Weak second half
Assistant Kris Van Der Haegen said during half-time that national coach Ives Serneels was not satisfied with the opening phase and had become angry in the locker room. However, the Flames also started the second half weakly and the Ukrainian women came back into the match. However, this did not result in great opportunities for the home team.
Serneels tried to turn the tide by introducing Detruyer twenty minutes before the end, but that substitution did not bring much improvement for the Flames. The Belgian women never reached their best level again and were fortunate that an equally mediocre Ukraine did not benefit from this. Even more: in the very last minute, Wullaert also made it 0-2 after a long VAR check.
Thanks to the 0-2 win, the Flames are taking a big step towards the European Championship, which will be played in Switzerland next year. The return of the last jump-off competition is scheduled for Tuesday in Leuven and the Belgian women must complete the assignment. That should not be a problem against this Ukraine.
Red Flames line-up: Lichtfus, Cayman, Tysiak, Kees, Janssen, Vanhaevermaet, Missipo, Wullaert, Eurlings (70′ Detruyer), Janssens, Van Kerkhoven
