It's Croky Cup time again, as we head into the Round of 16! After beating Belisia Bilzen, Club now makes its way to Patro Eisden Maasmechelen, where it is set to meet with the team coached by former Club goalkeeper Stijn Stijnen, having overcome Charleroi in the previous round. Find out all there is to know about this cup fixture here!
The Fixture
On Tuesday, Club Brugge will be boarding the buss towards Limburg for a cup tie with Patro Eisden Maasmechelen from second division. The two teams will be cozying up for the 4th time in the Belgian Cup. These were the previous encounters:
- 2 years ago, Club visited the Municipal Sports Stadium in the Round of 32. 90 minutes in, no goals had been scored, and it was only in prolongations that Noa Lang helped Club to the next round with 2 goals (0-2).
- In 2015, the same fixture in the Round of 32 as Club easily made it 0-4 with Hans Vanaken's first 2 goals in his debut season for Club. Thomas Meunier and Jelle Vossen provided the other 2 goals.
- In 1998 in the Round of 16, Patro made the trip to Olympia, only to concede a thumping 6-0 (own-goal Schoofs, Gert Claessens 2x, Gert Verheyen, Darko Anic and Nordin Jbari).
The two teams also faced each other in the league in 1960-61, but also in second division from 1956 through 1959.
The last 9 Round of 16 games resulted in 7 qualifications for Club. This season, the road to this game lead past Belisia Bilzen in the Round of 32. Half an hour played, Club had a triple lead courtesy of Ferran Jutglà (2x) and Zaid Romero. A rare break resulted in a 3-1 by Sam Valcke through a magnificent shot, but after half time, Gustaf Nilsson, Bjorn Meijer and Michal Skoras further put the result beyond doubt (6-1).
Club Brugge is still the record Cup winner with 11 wins, even if the last win dates back to 2015. A goal for Hans Vanaken would be the 10th goal for Club Brugge in the Croky Cup. Should Club score, it will do so for the 15th consecutive game. The last time Club failed to score was in the UCL home tie against Borussia Dortmund.
With Vital Borkelmans and Lei Clijsters 2 well-known players have played for both Club and Patro.
The opponent
On its way to the Round of 16, Patro survived two hurdles, both at its own turf:
- In the 6th preliminary round, RUS Binche from First National ACFF was the first opponent. Vicky Kianjaulua put the home team ahead just before halftime. After the break, the visitors were able to equalize from the penalty spot, but Patro was still able to come out on top through a goal by Jordan Renson (2-1).
- In the Round of 32, First divisionists Sporting Charleroi paid the mining village a visit. Within 20 minutes, Patro was already on a double lead after goals by Jordan Renson and Bafode Dansoko. Patro also started the second half with a quick goal from Simon Bammens. Daan Heymans was able to pull something back from the spot in the 62nd minute, but a few minutes later Adnane Abid scored the home team's fourth goal (4-1).
Patro is also faring well in the Challenger Pro League, with the team in fourth place after 13 playing days with 24 points, just four behind leaders RAAL La Louvière and SV Zulte Waregem. Last weekend, a goalless draw against SK Beveren was all that was in it for Patro. Defender Kjetil Borry saw a red card with 6 minutes on the clock in the first half.
Coach at Patro Eisden is Stijn Stijnen (43), in his seventh year at the club. Stijnen made 208 appearances for Club Brugge (2000-2011) and made it to the Red Devils on 30 occasions. After ending his career at Beerschot AC, he joined his former team Sporting Hasselt. He saved the club from financial ruin and was active there as president, sporting director and trainer. Since mid-2018, Stijnen started as a coach at Patro Eisden, leading the club from fourth tier to the Challenger Pro League (second tier - 1B).
Patro has in 1B since last year. Last season the club finished sixth, and the club is currenlty in fourth position. With Jordan Renson, William Simba and Keano Vanrafelghem, Patro has 3 players with a past with the youth of Club Brugge.
With 6 goals, Keano "Kiki" Vanrafelghem (21) is the club's top scorer this season. Newcomer and former KRC Genk youth product Adnane Abid (21) is the club's assist king (8 assists).
Last Summer, the club bid farewell to Anis Hadj Moussa, currently at Feyenoord where he already scored 2 in the Champions League, including in last week's match at Manchester City. Other players having left the club are Wouter Corstjens, Stefan Ingi Sigurdarson, Justin Heekeren, Théo Pierrot, Lesli Bamona Lubelu, Yassin Gueroui, Elisha Sam, Marius Noubissi and Iebe Swers.
The club reinforced with the following players:
- Defenders: Kjetil Borry and Raphaël Sarfo
- Midfielders: Reno Wilmots, Keano Vanrafelghem and William Simba
- Attackers: Adnane Abid, Vicky Kiankaulua and Papa Demba Ndior
Some nice stats from Patro from the Challenger Pro League:
- Patro has the best defense in the CPL (12 goals against, along with La Louvière).
- It already collected 5 clean sheets, the best in the league.
- Only Zulte Waregem (28) scored more than Patro (26 goals).
Milestones
- Raphael Onyedika can play his 110th match for Club Brugge.
- Joël Ordóñez can be in action for Blauw-Zwart for the 50th time.
- A possible 10th Cup tie for Andreas Skov Olsen at Club.
Referee
Mr. Lothar D'Hondt is the ref on duty next Tuesday night, assisted by assistant refs Mr. Romain Devillers and Mr. Nico Claes. Fourth official will be Mr. Tim De Keyzer. There will be no VAR in this round.
The 30-year old ref will lead an official match of Club Brugge for the 23rd time. Club's previous 12 away matches under his direction ended in 7 wins, 3 draws and 2 defeats. Earlier this season in the league, D'Hondt led the away match at KV Kortrijk (0-3) and the home match against Antwerp (1-0).
It is the third season in a row that Mr. D'Hondt will be leading Club Brugge's Croky Cup match in the Round of 16, after last year's tie with Zulte Waregem (4-0) and the year before against STVV (1-4).