Cercle have now made it two wins in a row in what was a second vital match in the relegation battle. Leonardo Da Silva Lopes and substitute Kévin Denkey gave the Groen-Zwart all three points with two well-taken goals, which means that Cercle extended their lead over Waasland-Beveren to four points.
Except for an early chance for the visitors through Frey, which did not cause much trouble for Didillon, it took some time for the match to settle. The Groen-Zwart did not start the game very well and were sometimes caught in possession as a result. Just before the half hour mark, though, Cercle threatened for the first time and it immediately resulted in a goal. From more than 25 meters out Da Silva Lopes struck the ball wonderfully, finding the top left corner. A minute later, Cercle were at it again, but Deman's attempt ended up in the side netting. Waasland-Beveren then took the upper hand in the final part of the first half, although the visitors could not convert that domination into any quality opportunities.
Ike Ugbo, the Groen-Zwart's top scorer, had a chance early in the second half to put Cercle ahead 2-0. After a lovely bit of combination play, the striker was in on goal but his attempt didn't find the target. At the other end, Frey fired over from close range. In terms of the quality of football on display, Cercle and Waasland-Beveren did not offer up the best match, but the intensity remained high. Nevertheless, Cercle had some excellent opportunities, but Biancone, Ugbo and Hotic failed to convert any of these chances. The substitute Denkey, however, immediately showed himself to be very active and saw his efforts, as they had like last week in Mouscron, soon pay off. After a fie bit of dribbling, he slotted the ball into the net just past the reach of Gabriel. Denkey even found the net a second time, but was just offside on the play. The visitors could no longer have hope of getting a result, and, Cercle's defense knew what it had to do with the crosses that came their way. In addition to what are three vital points, this team can also rest easy having recorded another clean sheet, their second in three league matches.
Cercle: Didillon, Biancone, Marcelin, Bates, Pavlovic, Vitinho, Da Silva Lopes (70' Van der Bruggen), Hoggas (70' Vanhoutte), Hotic (87' Decostere), Deman (77' Denkey) and Ugbo (87' Musaba).
Waasland-Beveren: Gabriel, Bastians, Vukotic, Wuytens, Leuko, Bertone, Faucher (65' Heymans), Albanese (22' Cijntje), Wuytens, Nilsen (65' Heymans), Koita (83' Schryvers) and Frey.
Goals: Da Silva Lopes 30' (1-0), Denkey 82' (2-0)
