Simon Mignolet: "Calculated gamble to dive to that corner"
Mignolet stopped a penalty kick and was applauded by his own crowd. The goalkeeper was very happy about that after the match. "Maybe I provided the tipping moment, that's possible. It wouldn't have been deserved to go behind." Normally Steuckers usually takes the penalty kicks at Genk, but Mignolet knew to expect Tolu as well. "All of them have already kicked in different places. It was a calculated gamble to dive to that corner. Luckily he kicks it there and I can catch him."
Club is now approaching to within one point of leader Genk and are also doing well in the other competitions. That's nice for the goalkeeper and for Club. "The momentum is for us now. The longer a series like this lasts, the tougher the moment when you're up against them. We just have to win game by game and be busy with the next one each time. We have enough games so we can always smoothly put the focus on the next game."
Was the difference this afternoon made by the experience in the team by players like Vanaken and Mignolet? "Maybe the metier of our experienced guys made the difference here today. Although there are such guys active at Genk as well. After the penalty it could have looked completely different. That doesn't happen now and because of that we take a deserved victory."
Brandon Mechele: "Dominant performance of the team"
Goalkeeper Mechele had been chosen as man of the match after the game. Something that surprised the defender. "Is that for real? I think the whole team played well. I think we were very dominant and deservedly won here." Mechele has had a great few days following the win and tribute against Sporting Lisbon. "It's been a very nice week for me. It's nice to score here today, but we should definitely not forget that Mignolet kept us right here with the penalty save. That I can score today then, that's very nice."
Hans Vanaken: "Free kick was inspiration of the moment"
Club deservedly won the topper against leaders Racing Genk 2-0 although it took quite a long time before the first goal fell. Captain Hans Vanaken was clearly satisfied with the result. "A very deserved victory," were the first words of the Bruges number 20. "And I think we should have scored at least one or even two goals before halftime. The second half we had fewer chances until then we were able to score that first goal. Before that we had everything under control, because Genk hadn't really had any chances until that penalty. And of course the penalty that Simon takes is a bit of an impetus for us to go looking for the opening goal more emphatically with the support of our fantastic crowd, and moments later Brandon managed to head the ball in on a corner kick.""Our second goal was perhaps the most beautiful, but that free kick was a spur of the moment and not a rehearsed number. I saw Skov standing very alone on the right and since almost all Genk players were in the wall I decided to play the ball to him. Skov didn't hesitate and shot the ball very hard across the corner, so the game was as good as played at that point. We are now within one point of Genk, but that is not the end of it. Both next week at Union and then here on Boxing Day against Westerlo, we want to take the full points and then we'll see where we stand."(FDC)
Nicky Hayen: "Kudos to the whole staff"
Nicky Hayen was obviously very pleased with the victory and also had a compliment for his staff. "It was a thickly deserved victory. However, don't forget that we played against a very strong opponent. We had the better chances, but we didn't make the mistake of running blindly forward. We stayed patient and that was important. It was sour that that ball went on the dot, but of course we are very happy that Simon took that ball. As a result, the stadium was ablaze. You felt that the fans got behind it even more and that kept the belief among the players growing."
Club eventually scored two more goals, each time on a stoppage time. "Both last week and this week we made the difference that way. So kudos to the whole staff and especially to Jarne (Kesteloot, nvdr) and Michiel (Jonckheere, nvdr). They put an incredible amount of work into this and that is why they deserve the credit. They do a lot of work in the background. We are one team, it doesn't matter who is in front of the camera, but they deserve all the credit."
Thanks to this victory, Blauw-Zwart is approaching to within one point of leader Genk. "We have always said that we wanted to systematically reduce our gap in order to take over that leadership position over time. We are now approaching to one point, but we both still have tough programs. They still have to face Anderlecht and Antwerp, while we are up against Union and Westerlo. It just comes down to continuing to take points."