Eupen head coach Florian Kohfeldt will be starting to worry after his side suffered a fifth straight defeat. Antwerp handed the Pandas a 4-1 mauling away from home, despite Eupen taking the lead through Isaac Nuhu just after the 10 minute mark. Since beating OH Leuven 3-1 on the 26th of August, the side have lost every single game. Defeats to KV Mechelen (1-0), Standard Liege (1-3), Gent (2-1) and Anderlecht (1-3) preceded the defeat away to Antwerp.
While on paper these sides would be considered favourites against Eupen, the run of games without picking up a single point will concern a club that was tipped to be part of the relegation struggle. The side had lost only one of its opening five games, which was at home to Club Brugge, an understandable defeat even if the 5-0 score line was embarrassing.
It may get worse for Eupen, as after the international break they face a strong Union St Gilloise side who want to be battling the likes of Antwerp for the title. The side then face a struggling Charleroi, who by then they will need to take some points off of.
This run of defeats has also seen the side emerge as one of the worst defensive sides in the league, joining Kortrijk with 22 goals conceded in 10 games. They have managed to score 13, helped by the likes of Nuhu and Gary Magnee who have two each. Magnee has been the sides best player in terms of scoring, with two assists to go alongside his two goals.
What will worry Eupen fans is that this is part of an ongoing trend for the club, where they start well but tail off completely, ending the season in a relegation battle. This slide appears to have started earlier than it did in previous years. Over the summer the club had a tight budget with little wiggle room to bring players in. Kohfeldt clearly targeted known quantities in some former Bundesliga favourites like Alfred Finnbogason, who is still a handful for defenders at the age of 34. Injuries to Bartosz Bialek and Kevin Möhwald have certainly hampered the already thin squad.
The former Werder Bremen head coach will hope that this is just a small blip and that he can rediscover the early season form that had won Eupen plenty of praise.
GBeNeFNÂ |Â Ben Jackson
