Speaking after their 1-1 draw with Shamrock Rovers, Gent manager Hein Vanhaezebrouck revealed that a sickness bug had been going through the side. Hugo Cuypers, the sides top scorer, was unable to leave the hotel room, while Andrew Hjulsager and Hyun-Seok Hong had still been ill the morning of the game.
Despite the illness, both Hjulsager and Hong managed to get on the pitch, with the former playing the full 90 minutes. The latter had to come off the bench, but managed to rescue a point for the side when he converted a cross from Hjulsager. That was Hong’s fifth goal since moving from LASK in Austria to Belgium, and his first in Europe. Vanhaezebrouck has already said recently that he believes Hong should be included in the South Korean squad for the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
The draw in Ireland means that Gent must beat Molde next Thursday. Molde were 2-0 up against Djurgardens, but managed to throw away the lead and lose 3-2. If the Norwegian side had managed to win, Gent would have been out.
