A reshaped Club NXT U23 lost against a more experienced Patro Eisden-Maasmechelen. With two penalties by Kis and a goal by Sigurdarson, it was already 3-0 at halftime. After halftime, the Icelander made it 4-0. For an impotent Club NXT, the winter break did not come too soon.
Captain Romeo Vermant did not get ready for the last match before the winter break. Also no Barbera, Talbi, De Roeve, Salah and Seys, all injured. Coach Hayen therefore had to face Stijn Stijnen's experienced squad with a tweaked eleven. With Jordan Renson, a former player of Club NXT started at Purple-White.
As early as the first minute, goalkeeper Nick Shinton had to go flat to avoid an early deficit. Our goallie stopped a low shot from Kis. The home team put our youngsters under pressure and it resulted in the 1-0 already after about ten minutes. Pietermaat crossed towards the penalty area. The ball ended up in the pack, where eventually Sigurdarson was able to beat goalkeeper Shinton from close range. About 10 minutes later, Hadj-Moussa slalomed past some Bruges defenders. Liam De Smet correctly stopped the ball, but the Patro player made a dive into the penalty area. Referee Boterberg wrongly awarded a penalty, which was converted by Kis. Just like in the home match, Club NXT fell behind 2-0 to the Maaslanders. Could our youngsters pick up the slack again this time? Unfortunately, this time things went from bad to worse. Dansoko advanced towards goal at lightning speed, but Yakymenko pulled the emergency brake. Again penalty kicked by Kis first at goalkeeper Shinton, but in the rebound he still made it 3-0 with barely half an hour on the clock. It was clear that our youngsters were in for a difficult afternoon. Blue-Black had the chance for the 3-1 just before halftime, but Corstjens blocked it. In the end we reached halftime with a heavy 3-0 deficit.
Coach Hayen replaced Yakymenko and Willems with Furo and Granados at the start of the second half. As always, our youngsters never gave up this time and went in search of a first goal. With 70% ball possession, they were doing well, but the Limburgers were aiming for quick turnovers to poke against. It unfortunately resulted in a fourth goal. Hadj-Moussa set up a nice dribble and played Pietermaat. He put the ball simply in front of goal and again Sigurdarson tapped in. Game over. Coach Hayen had a few more players brought on with Goemaere, Lund-Jensen and Bisiwu, but no matter what Club NXT tried, it could hardly threaten goalkeeper Belin. He caught a too-soft shot from our young Dane Lund-Jensen shortly before the end of regular playing time. The last chance of the match was for Patro. Fortunately, goalkeeper Shinton was able to avoid the forfeit score thanks to a clever reflex. Thus, a battered Club NXT goes into the winter break with a defeat. A welcome break for our youngsters. The first match of 2024 will take place on Saturday, January 13 against Lommel at The Nest. Supporters also in 2024 they count on your support. We are NXT!
Club NXT: Nick Shinton, Jano Willems (46’ Alejandro Granados), Abdoul Bi Kader Yameogo, William Simba (65’ Laurens Goemaere), Amine Et-Taïbi (74’ Tobias Lund-Jensen), Sem Audoor, Shion Homma, Liam De Smet, Lenn De Smet, Benjamin Faraas (88’ Jesse Bisiwu), Oleksandr Yakymenko (46’ Kaye Furo). Bank: Axl De Corte, Jessi Da Silva. Coach: Nicky Hayen.
Patro Eisden-Maasmechelen: Jordi Belin, Kevin Kis, Wouter Corstjens, Jordan Renson, Henk Dijkhuizen, Bafode Dansoko (79’ Yacine Bentayeb), Tom Pietermaat, Theo Pierrot, Anis Hadj-Moussa (86’ Mehdi Bounou), Stefan Sigurdarson (86’ Elisha Sam Bruce), Simon Bammens (67’ Yassin Gueroui). Bank: Justin Verlinden, Leslie Bamona, Jerome Kroonen. Coach: Stijn Stijnen.
Goals: 11’ Sigurdarson 1-0, 23’ Kis (penalty) 2-0, 34’ Kis 3-0 (penalty), 64’ Sigurdarson 4-0.
Yellow cards: 18’ Corstjens, 33’ Yakymenko,
Referee: Jan Boterberg.
Stadium: Patrostadion.