Another disappointing weekend for Club Brugge fans as once again the side were unable to grab three points. They have now gone seven games without a win in the league. For new manager Scott Parker, it’s now four without a win. At home to Charleroi the side could only get a 2-2 draw, although they did come back from 2-0 down but then failed to capitalise against the away side’s 10 men.
The game started poorly for the home side, with one of their own players putting them behind. Youssouph Badji is on loan at Charleroi from Club Brugge and has struggled to find the net this season. Badji grabbed just his second goal of the season in the 13th minute with a composed finish into the bottom corner. It went from bad to worse for Parker’s side, as just three minutes later some good work from Joris Kayembe on the left led to another own goal from Brandon Mechele. The defender has now scored two own goals in the month of January.
Just before half-time Damien Marq gave away a penalty, with Noa Lang stepping up to bring the home side within one going into the break. In a team playing below par, Lang was the clear standout player. He caused Charleroi all sorts of problems and its no surprise that he ended up being the most fouled player on the pitch.
Parker brought on Andreas Skov Olsen at half-time and just five minutes later the Dane had his side level. It was Olsen again who was involved in another decisive moment in the game, when he broke away only to be brought down by Mehdi Boukamir before he could get his shot away. Boukamir saw red, and Club now had the chance to push on.
However, they could not find a way past Herve Koffi in the Charleroi net and saw another game slip through his fingers. After Gent then went on to beat Sint-Truiden 3-0, the defending champions are now outside of play-off one, and thus the top four. It’s unclear if Parker was brought in to try and defend the title, but the prospect of Club winning the league seems the least of their worries at the moment. The upcoming Champions League tie with Benfica is looming, while missing out on the top four could see the side miss out on European football altogether.
GBeNeFNÂ |Â Ben Jackson
