Club NXT U23 also took the scalp from RFC Seraing after Olympic Charleroi and KV Kortrijk. Despite field superiority of Blauw-Zwart, they could not score during the first half of the match. That did happen when substitute Tian Nai Koren cleverly scored the 1-0 in the second half. A deserved victory and thus Club NXT U23 gets connected to the other teams in the rankings.
Lynnt Audoor started in the starting lineup after a long absence due to his injury sustained in the Champions League match against FC Barcelona. In the presence of some atmosphere groups from Blauw-Zwart who provided the necessary atmosphere, Club NXT U23 had the best start. However, it took a while until we could note a real dangerous goal opportunity. Van Britsom shot from an acute angle straight at goalkeeper Gillekens. Seraing tried with a long distance shot by Soumah-Abbad that posed no problem for our goalie. Club NXT U23 was in control of the game. An attempt by Buifrahi on a Wylin pass went wide. Nor could Goemaere score on a pass from our left winger Buifrahi. RFC Seraing often used the offside trap and so our team were regularly stopped. When Van Acker escaped, his shot was blocked. On the stroke of halftime, first a good shot by Buifrahi went just over goal, but also on the other side Seraing missed a goal opportunity by kicking the ball high over. We went to rest with a glasses score.
At the start of the second half, Audoor and Buifrahi were replaced by Delorge and Koren. Seraing struggled with the speed of the young Slovenian. It was all hands on deck for the visitors. Yet they remained upright because Blauw-Zwart also often ran into the offside trap. Until minute 72 when Koren was played in by Delorge with a nice cross. He did not hesitate and banged the 1-0 against the nets. Seraing changed a lot of players but it was Musuayi, substituted at Club NXT U23, who missed the opportunity to double the score twice. Captain Wylin also failed to beat goalkeeper Gillekens a second time. Seraing pressed a bit in the end in an attempt to still take a point to Liege, but De Corte kept the clean sheet. Club NXT U23 thus picks up a nine out of nine and finds connection with the teams above them. The next league game is away at Beerschot, but first follows the Youth League clash next Tuesday against AS Monaco U19.
Club NXT U23: Axl De Corte, Alexander Vandeperre (66' Mohamed Elbay), Samuel Gomez-Van Hoogen, Wout Verlinden, Siebe Wylin, Lynnt Audoor (46' Lucas Delorge), Laurens Goemaere, Rayan Buifrahi (46' Tian Nai Koren), Thibaut Van Acker, Tobias Lund Jensen (90' Jano Willems), Jakke Van Britsom (66' Yanis Musuayi). Bank: Thibeau Kestemont, Alejandro Granados, Jessi Da Silva, Naïm Amengai. Coach: Jonas De Roeck.
RFC Seraing: Nick Gillekens, Oussmane Kebe, Hady Camara, Noah Solheid, Emmanuel Tshimbalanga, Djibril Diarra (75' Hemsley Akpa-Chukwu), Bassim Boukteb (64' Thiago Paulo Da Silva), Matthieu Muland (79' Diego Duarte), Edouard Soumah-Abbad (79' Tom Lockman), Thierno Gaye (64' Abdoulaye Ba), Harry Ondo-Eye. Bank: Boris Ngoua, Saliou Faye, Cheikhou Ndiaye, Valerio Di Crescenzo. Coach: Kevin Caprasse.
Goal: 72' Koren.
Yellow card: 90+1' Da Silva.
Referee: Jasper Vitse.
Stadium: The Nest Roeselare.
Spectators: 485.