Club Brugge hosted Croatian side NK Lokomotiva Zagbreb for the fourth friendly of this pre-season ahead of Sunday's Super Cup. Vanaken, Vetlesen and Campbell all scored in the second half to hand Club a 3-0 win.
As a final dress rehearsal ahead of Sunday’s Supercup clash, head coach Nicky Hayen opted for what could be a starting XI in official competition. Mignolet was given the nod in goal, with a back three of Spileers, Ordóñez and Mechele lining in front of him. The midfield trio consisted of skipper Vanaken, Onyedika and Reis, while Sabbe and Seys operated down the flanks. Up front, Tzolis partnered with Vermant.
The first real chance of the match was for Blauw-Zwart. Fifteen minutes in, Vanaken played a sharp one-touch pass into the feet of Tzolis, who slipped in Vermant. However, the striker’s effort with his left foot was too central and dealt with comfortably by keeper Posavec. Not long after, the Croatians responded through Vukovic, but his effort drifted wide of Mignolet’s goal.
Both sides emerged unchanged after the break, and it was Club who threatened first once again. Tzolis delivered an inviting corner into the box, picking out Mechele, but the defender’s header failed to hit the target. Five minutes before half-time, Club were given a scare when Pajac whipped in a superb free-kick towards the top corner, but Mignolet was equal to it, tipping it onto the bar to keep things level. The sides went in at the interval with the score at 0-0.
A raft of changes followed at the start of the second half, with only Romero, Vetlesen, Mechele and Vanaken staying on. And it was the captain who broke the deadlock 15 minutes after the restart. Following a swift counter down the right, Et-Taïbi squared the ball across goal and Vanaken calmly slotted home at the far post. Ten minutes later, Vetlesen doubled the advantage. After some hesitation in the Zagreb back line, the ball broke kindly for the Norwegian midfielder, who made no mistake and slotted beneath the onrushing keeper.
Lokomotiva Zagreb almost hit back immediately through a quick counter of their own, but Jackers was well-positioned to deny the attempted lob.
As the final half-hour unfolded, further substitutions were made, though it was the visitors who looked most likely to score next. Stojakovic latched onto a through ball and struck from close range, but Jackers reacted sharply to keep his clean sheet intact.
Five minutes from time, Goemaere came close to adding a third for Club, firing narrowly wide of the post. But it was Blauw-Zwart who would have the final say. A swift transition saw Campbell play the ball into Vetlesen, who in turn slipped a clever pass through to Bissiwu. The youngster rounded the goalkeeper before squaring for Campbell to tap into an empty net and seal a convincing 3-0 victory.
Locations: Belfius Basecamp
Referee: Dunken Van De Velde
Club Brugge: Simon Mignolet (61’ Nordin Jackers) – Jorne Spileers (61’ Vince Osuji), Brandon Mechele (77’ Cisse Sandra), Joel Ordóñez (50’ Zaid Romero) – Kyriani Sabbe (61’ Amine Et-Taïbi), Raphael Onyedika (50’ Hugo Vetlesen), Ludovit Reis (61’ Lynnt Audoor (91’ Alejandro Granados), Hans Vanaken (77’ Shandre Campbell), Joaquin Seys (61’ Samuel Gomez van Hoogen (105’ Laurens Goemaere) – Romeo Vermant (61’ Kaye Furo (105’ Tobias Lund Jensen)), Christos Tzolis (61’ Michał Skóraś (91’ Jesse Bisiwu)) .
Bench: Nordin Jackers, Zaid Romero, Hugo Vetlesen, Shandre Campbell, Kaye Furo, Michał Skóraś, Cisse Sandra, Vince Osuji, Amine Et-Taïbi, Laurens Goemaere, Jesse Bisiwu, Tobias Lund Jensen, Samuel Gomez van Hoogen, Lynnt Audoor, Alejandro Granados.
Coach: Nicky Hayen.
NK Lokomotiva Zagreb: Josip Posavec – Marko Pajac, Denis Kolinger, Cheick Mbacke Diop – Marin Leovac, Blaz Boskovic, Domagoj Antolic, Fabijan Krivak, Mario Situm – Mirko Susak, Dusan Vukovic.
Bench: Luka Dajcer, Ivan Katic, Ivan Canjuga, Jakov-Anton Vasilj, Zvonimir Subaric, Noa Godec, Tino Jukic, Jose Manuel Raigal Gil, Matija Subotic, Aleks Stojakovic, Juan Pablo Krilanovich, Maroje Kostopec.
Coach: Nikica Jelavic.
Yellow cards: Kolinger, Reis, Katic
Red cards: none
Goals: 76’ Vanaken (1-0), 86’ Vetlesen (2-0), 118’ Campbell (3-0)
