The Belgian players offered a much more successful performance during the second duel against France (3-1). A new step forward to be confirmed against South Africa in 10 days.Article reserved for subscribers
Por this second meeting of the weekend with France, in the Pro League, the Belgian players were keen to correct the situation after the average performance on Saturday despite the victory (2-1). With an unchanged group (Simon Vandenbroucke, ill, was not replaced in the 18), the Red Lions therefore took the initiative again and they obtained a stroke, after only 71 seconds game, but Tom Boon’s attempt hit the crossbar. They controlled the game and waited patiently to be able to strike and it was done in the 9th minute on a powerful backhand shot from Cédric Charlier. But 42 seconds from the end of the first quarter, to everyone’s surprise, the Blues equalized via Timothée Clément on their first real foray into the circle.
In the 18th minute, the Lions obtained their first two penalties of the match and Tom Boon was quick to restore the advantage to his team on the second by placing a powerful flat sleep. Five minutes later, on his 3rd penalty, Tom Boon already scored his 7th goal of the season in the Pro League (3-1). Belgium was well in place and mastered its subject while the French could not find the parade to block them as during their first meeting. Tanguy Cosyns also got his chance on pc but Arthur Thieffry rejected his attempt from the Brussels striker.
Not yet at their best
The structure was perfectly in place on the side of Michel van den Heuvel’s proteges who accelerated when necessary to create danger in front of the opposing goal. They obtained some good chances via Cédric Charlier and William Ghislain but they did not manage to increase their lead at the scoreboard in this 3rd quarter of an hour. 8 minutes from the final whistle, the French inherited their very first penalty but it was badly stopped. The end of the game was a little more disjointed but the Red Lions were never really put under pressure despite the 2 new pc obtained by the Blues.
“We can be satisfied to have taken 11 points out of 12 during these last 15 days after the meetings against Spain and France”, rejoiced Tom Boon, author of a double. “Especially having rotated our workforce and having incorporated newcomers. We are not yet playing at the level we hope for but that will be for later. However, the important thing is to continue to grow and develop. Defensively we played well against France and we didn’t leave them many possibilities. What I will remember from this weekend is that we always manage to correct things when we talk together after a less convincing performance. We will now have to score a 6 out of 6 against South Africa in 10 days to continue our momentum. We will therefore continue to work well to end this Pro League in the best possible way. »
After 10 games (out of 16), the Red Lions now occupy 5th place in the general classification of the competition. These 2 successes allow them to stay in the race to renew their title, they will not be able to afford to lose too many points on the way against South Africa, India and England.
