Time for the 1/8th finals in the Croky Cup! After a win against Belisia Bilzen, Club heads to fellow countryman Patro Eisden Maasmechelen. The Limburgers, led by former Club player Stijn Stijnen, defeated Charleroi in the previous round. You can read everything you need to know about this cup showdown here!
The match
Next Tuesday, Club Brugge will travel to Maaskant in Limburg for a cup match against Patro Eisden Maasmechelen from 1st Division B. It is already the 4th meeting in the Belgian Cup between both teams. These were the previous matches:
- 2 years ago, Club was a guest in the 1/16th final in the Municipal Sports Stadium. After 90 minutes no goals had been scored. Only in extra time did Noa Lang help Club to the next round with 2 goals (0-2).
- In 2015, this poster was also there in the 1/16th final. Club then easily won 0-4 with the first 2 goals from Hans Vanaken in his debut season for Club. Thomas Meunier and Jelle Vossen scored the other 2 goals.
- In 1998 in the 1/8th final Patro was a guest at Olympia. Blauw-Zwart then scored 6-0 (own goal Schoofs, Gert Claessens 2x, Gert Verheyen, Darko Anic and Nordin Jbari).
In addition to the 3 cup matches, there was also a double meeting in the First Division in the 1960-61 season and the teams played against each other 3 years in a row in the Second Division (1956-1959).
In the last 9 participations in the 1/8th final, Club was able to qualify 7 times. This season, Club reached this round by eliminating Patro’s fellow provincials Belisia Bilzen in the 1/16th final. Within half an hour, Club had already taken a triple lead after goals from Ferran Jutglà (2x) and Zaid Romero. On the counterattack, Sam Valcke was able to beautifully save the honor for Belisia. After halftime, Gustaf Nilsson, Bjorn Meijer and Michal Skoras secured a big 6-1 win.
Club Brugge is the record cup winner with 11 victories. But the last victory dates back to 2015. Hans Vanaken can score his 10th goal for Club Brugge in the Croky Cup against his fellow provincials. If Club can score, it will do so for the 15th match in a row. The last time Club failed to do this was in the UCL at home against Borussia Dortmund.
With Vital Borkelmans and Lei Clijsters, there were 2 well-known players who played for both Club and Patro.
The opponent
On Wednesday, K. Patro Eisden Maasmechelen will host Blauw-Zwart in the 1/8th final of the Croky Cup. To get to this round the club had to eliminate 2 opponents. Each time it played in its own stadium:
- In the 6th preliminary round, RUS Binche from First National ACFF was the first cup opponent. Vicky Kianjaulua gave the home team the lead just before half-time. After the break, the visitors were able to equalize through a penalty kick. But Patro was still able to win the match after a goal by Jordan Renson (2-1).
- In the 1/16th final, JPL club Sporting Charleroi was a guest in the mining village. Within 20 minutes, Patro had already taken a double lead after goals from Jordan Renson and Bafode Dansoko. Patro also started the second half with a quick goal from Simon Bammens. Daan Heymans was able to give something back from the spot in the 62nd minute, but a few minutes later Adnane Abid scored the fourth goal for the home team (4-1).
Patro is also doing well in the Challenger Pro League. After 13 match days, the club is in fourth place with 24 points. That is 4 fewer than the leading duo RAAL La Louvière and SV Zulte Waregem.
Last weekend Patro did not get further than a scoreless draw at SK Beveren. Defender Kjetil Borry had to leave the field 6 minutes before half-time after a straight red card.
Patro Eisden’s coach is Stijn Stijnen (43) for the seventh season in a row. Stijnen played no fewer than 208 times at Club Brugge (2000-2011) and won 30 caps with the Red Devils. After ending his career at Beerschot AC, he started working for his former team Sporting Hasselt. He saved the club from financial ruin and served as chairman, sporting director and trainer. Stijnen started working as a coach at Patro Eisden in mid-2018. Stijnen guided Patro from the Second Division Amateur (fourth level) to the Challenger Pro League (second level).
Patro has been playing in 1B again since last year. Last season the club finished sixth in the CPL, so this season the club is fourth in the standings. With Jordan Renson, William Simba and Keano Vanrafelghem, Patro has 3 players with a history with the youth/promises of Club Brugge.
Keano “Kiki” Vanrafelghem (21) is the club’s top scorer this season with 6 goals. Newcomer and former KRC Genk youth product Adnane Abid (21) is the club’s assist king (8 assists).
Last summer the club said goodbye to Anis Hadj Moussa. He is currently doing well at Feyenoord, where he has already scored twice in the Champions League, including in the match last week at Manchester City.
Wouter Corstjens, Stefan Ingi Sigurdarson, Justin Heekeren, Théo Pierrot, Lesli Bamona Lubelu, Yassin Gueroui, Elisha Sam, Marius Noubissi and Iebe Swers also left the Maasland club.
The club strengthened itself with, among others, these players:
- Defenders: Kjetil Borry and Raphaël Sarfo
- Midfielders: Reno Wilmots, Keano Vanrafelghem and William Simba
- Forwards: Adnane Abid, Vicky Kiankaulua and Papa Demba Ndior
Some nice stats from Patro from the Challenger Pro League:
- Patro has the best defense in the CPL (12 goals conceded, together with La Louvière).
- It was already able to collect 5 clean sheets, the best in the competition.
- And only Zulte Waregem (28) scored more times than Patro (26 goals).
Milestones
- Raphael Onyedika can play his 110th match for Club Brugge.
- Joël Ordóñez can play for Blauw-Zwart for the 50th time.
- Andreas Skov Olsen can play in the cup for the 10th time for Club.
Referee
Lothar D’Hondt is the ref on duty on Tuesday evening. He is assisted by assistant refs Romain Devillers and Nico Claes. The fourth official is Tim De Keyzer. There is no VAR in this round.
The 30-year-old ref is leading an official Club Brugge match for the 23rd time. Club’s previous 12 away matches under his leadership ended with 7 wins, 3 draws and 2 defeats. Earlier this season, D’Hondt led the away match against KV Kortrijk (0-3) and the home match against Antwerp (1-0) in the competition.
It is the third season in a row that D’Hondt leads the Croky Cup match of Club Brugge in the 1/8th final. Last year against Zulte Waregem (4-0) and the year before against STVV (1-4).