Dender grabbed just their fourth win of the season this weekend with a 1-0 victory away to RAAL La Louviere. The side is currently battling to avoid facing the winner of the Challenger Pro League play-offs for a place in the Belgian Pro League next season. The gap to RAAL and guaranteed safety currently sits at nine points, still a huge mountain for the club to climb.
Former Brighton winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh scored the only goal of the game and his first for Dender. The Iranian winger, who spent a number of seasons in England with Brighton, only joined Dender on a free transfer back in November. Outside of his time with Brighton, Jahanbakhsh spent the majority of his career across the border from Belgium in the Netherlands. Prior to joining Brighton, the winger played for NEC Nijmegen and AZ Alkmaar. From 2018 to 2021, Jahanbakshs played 61 games for Brighton, scoring four goals. He returned to the Eredivisie in the summer of 2021, joining Feyenoord. Last season the winger played for Heerenveen but left at the end of the season.
Dender will likely need more from the former Brighton man if they want to guarantee their survival. With only 15 points remaining for them to earn this season, it is likely they will have to win every single game and hope that RAAL lose all of their games, a scenario that seems highly improbable, but not impossible.
GBeNeFNย |ย Ben Jackson
