With 8 matches to go, and 3 points separating Royal Antwerp and 5th place there is plenty of pressure on players, coach and the club to perform. There are 2 home games this week and so a win against Hamme would set things up nicely. Seeing Patrick Goots kick off brought back memories for the fans of what used to be.

Match Summary – 1st Half

A slow start to the match with Hamme forcing the first corner, which did not cause any worries for the home defence. Kenmogne works his way up the right, crosses but it is just too high for Pivaljevic. De Vriese gets past his defender with a neat dribble but his cross is headed clear by De Smet for a corner, which is eventually cleared.

Both sides are less than tidy in midfield, so the match is played at a rather sedate pace. In the 13th minute De Vriese crosses from a free kick, but Baert is alert to the danger. Trenson is next to show, winning the ball back from what looked like a no win situation he manages to get his cross in which Vervaeke hits first time goalwards, the keeper makes a good save at the expense of a corner.

Vervaeke is playing well, so much so that De Winne needs to foul him to stop him, which results in a yellow card for the defender. Unfortunately Trenson decided that it was an act worth repeating and he also gets shown a yellow card. Hamme have the best chance of the half, Vandemarliere somehow gets through but he has left his scoring boots behind, his effort going high and over.

The home side cannot make much a fist, even after Baert hobbles off clutching his leg and is substituted by Deprez. The last real chance of the half is for Pivaljevic who gets his head to a Slovic cross only to see the new keeper make a good save.
Half Time 0-0

Match Summary – 2nd Half

The home fans are hoping for better things in the second half. It’s the same lineup as at the start, but clearly they have been given the message – go out and win !. De Vriese chases after a long pass, but his cross is for nothing as it went over the goal line first. Kenmogne is next to show but his shot is too high. At the other end De Smet has a rather feeble effort.

Royal Antwerp are in the ascendancy and Hamme are using foul means rather than fair to stop them, however the home side are unable to make good use of the resulting free kicks. Hamme counter but the resulting header does not trouble Ristovic. Van Hemert pushes up his flank, gets past a defender and puts in a good cross but Deprez is at hand to save.

Vervaeke picks up the baton and gets away, passes to Slovic, eventually the ball drops to Kenmogne with his back to goal, who controls it perfectly on his chest before volleying over Deprez and into the net via the cross bar. (1-0). A deserved lead, but what sticks in the memory is the great finish.
This lifted the match to a new level, with Royal Antwerp looking to exploit the space being left by a ‘stretched’ Hamme. De Vriese sees his effort go wide for a corner, taken by Slovic but eventually saved by Deprez. Kenmogne is at the end of a long pass but he does not make good contact and the chance is gone. Hamme try to get back into the match but cannot make much headway with the home defence, so they resort to long range efforts which are less than accurate, the volley from Verheyden hitting the glass frontage of the business seats !!.

From a Hamme free kick Pivaljevic is wise to the event, blocks the kick and sets up a counter, however with 3 against 2 Royal Antwerp are unable to make it count. The home side are well on top and Svilar takes off De Vriese who has had a good match and sends out Jelicic who is quick to show good form. However it is Kenmogne who presents the greatest threat to Hamme, he worms his way into the area, gets past his man but shoots narrowly over.

Svilar decides to make a further change, bringing on Setti for Vukomanovic, whilst Hamme bring on Delange as an extra striker. In the 73rd minute Ristovic shows why he is of such great value to the side, making a world class save after Verhoeven manages to get past the defence and is 1 on 1 with Pedrag. Jelicic has also sent 1 on 1 with Deprez, but his effort goes just wide. Verbiest is shown yellow for a somewhat clumsy challenge.

Royal Antwerp start to work the counter well, a quick 1 – 2 between Jelicic nad Kenmogne see’s the latter’s shot hit a post and go clear, with neither Pivaljevic nor Kenmogne able to make the rebound count. Kestens is the next to be shown yellow.

In the last minute of normal time Trenson makes what appears to be a regulation sliding tackle, the Hamme player goes down as if pole-axed and the referee shows Trenson his second yellow and he is off. Verbiest gives the referee some verbal and is shown his second yellow and so follows Trenson off the field for an early shower. 2 off for what appeared to be a totally legitimate tackle and which means they will both miss the next home match.

Fortunately it is too late for Hamme to take advantage and the match ends in a deserved win for the home side.

A side note, all of 10 fans from our least favourite team in town made the effort to support 'their' (former) player Verhoeven.
Full Time 1-0