The last day of the regular championship in Division One gave rise to some big surprises. The two leaders initially saved their strength for the double weekend. Beerschot thus signed its first defeat of the season in favor of Parc, which recorded its first victory of the season. This 0-3 was already a big surprise. And what about Louvain-la-Neuve’s 9-1 against… the Old Club? The Liégeois followed the same logic as Beerschot. Opposite, LLN needed a very large victory to hope to secure the top 4, but Antwerp did the job against Namur by snatching a point despite the five goals scored. Once again, the world was crazy. Ultimately, the only match that mattered was the distance match between Louvain and Amicale Anderlecht. The division of the Louvanists was not enough to avoid the place of play-off because the Anderlechtois snatched a great victory from Nivelles.
We have identified some lessons from this season
1. Beerschot faces the challenge of Antwerp
Beerschot is not moved by its defeat on Wednesday. And for good reason, the club had fielded other players. “We played with our U19s, two guys from men 2 and 3. For our young people, it was a great match. They gained experience. The families were present”, told T1 John Goldberg. “We won't remember much from this match for Saturday. From now on, we know that we will face Antwerp who offer a good mix of youth and experience. We have been preparing for this weekend for a year. It’s up to us to be there.”
2. Namur will try to bring down the Old Club
Namur-Old Club is the story of a rivalry between the provinces of Liège and Namur. The poster is quite balanced even if the Old Club remains a stronger tone. The Liégeois are not traumatized by the 9-1 humiliation suffered on Wednesday against Louvain-la-Neuve. “On the one hand, Louvain-la-Neuve still had a slim hope of qualifying for the top 4. In addition, our opponent had learned that Antwerp was trailing during the match. For our part, we fielded five players who had had little playing time, U19s and former glories like Pilou Maraite. The usual team was at the side of the field to encourage them”, says Tom Dawance before looking ahead to his Saturday. “We are calm before the semi-finals. We had a classic week in terms of training. We have been waiting for this weekend since September. We will approach it with confidence. The team is complete. We are in shape. Namur will have nothing to lose. The climb was not in their objectives for the season. The Namurois remain on a good second round. We have the same technical level. The 140 minutes will be intense. We are not used to calculating. We will give everything from Saturday. A priori, we can expect Namur to be waiting for us in their half.”
Manu Brunet succeeded in his mission by making the team grow over the matches. This third place is a great reward. “We knew for a week that we would play the final”, explains the Argentinian. “We had part of our spirit in the playoffs. We know the Old Club well. Both teams know each other's strengths and weaknesses. We will do as usual: work and give everything. We’ll see where this takes us.”
3. Amicale Anderlecht narrowly avoids the barrage
The fight to avoid the place of play-off was uncertain until the end. Indiana, Amicale Anderlecht and Louvain were at the same time for a long time. Everything was unlocked on the last day. The success of the Amicale au Pingouin threw Louvain into a play-off against Wellington or Verviers on the weekend of May 18 and 19.
Amicale Anderlecht is therefore not forced to work overtime in May. “We beat Nivelles 2-4 after a terrible match where both teams looked for victory. We created a lot. We put the pressure on. We defended well. We were at war. The team gave everything. The wheel has turned for us. I'm super happy because we had 17 points after the first round. Then, we had bad luck and injuries which complicated our second round”, Gaby Garreta, the Amicale coach, explained to us. “We deserve our place in Nationale 1.”
4. The Park and the Lara go down to Nationale 2
This season, the descent was cooler than a year ago. Remember that six-man play-down where the bottom four went down. This season, the race for maintenance was very calm because the Park and the Lara never really competed with the ten others. Certainly, Lara developed a good game, but he was torpedoed by all his defensive generosity. With 12 points, the Wavriens can have regrets. As for the Park, it was not yet equipped to create an illusion in D1. But the people of Brussels have gained solid experience which will allow them to bounce back higher next time. The Park achieved a success that fell from the sky on the last day.
22nd day: May 1
Penguin – Amicale Anderlecht 2-4
Louvain-la-Neuve – Old Club 9-1
Namur – Antwerp 5-5
Indiana – Louvain 2-2
Beerschot – Park 0-3
Mechelen – Lara 4-2
Ranking
1. Beerschot 22 19 1 2 58
2. Old Club 22 15 1 6 46
3. Namur 22 13 4 5 43
4. Antwerp 22 11 5 6 38
5. LLN 22 11 4 7 37
6. Mechelen 22 10 4 8 34
7. Penguin 22 10 3 9 33
8. Indiana 22 7 5 10 26
9. Friendly 22 7 3 12 24
10. Leuven 22 6 4 12 22
11. Lara 22 3 3 16 12
12. Park 22 1 1 20 4
Weekend program
Play-off semi-final
Antwerp – Beerschot Sa 3 p.m.
Namur – Old Club Sa 3 p.m.
Beerschot – Antwerp Sun 3 p.m.
Old Club – Namur Sun 3 p.m.
The play-offs will take place on the weekend of May 18 and 19 either against Wellington or against Verviers.
