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·11 August 2024
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·11 August 2024
Sint Truiden followed up their 4-1 home defeat against Charleroi last weekend with an even more resounding capitulation against Antwerp on Sunday afternoon. The side lost 6-1 and have now conceded 11 goals in just three games to start the Pro League season, doing little to convince anyone that the pre season prediction of a relegation battle will not be a reality this time around.
Former QPR favourite Tjaronn Chery converted Vincent Janssen’s cross to open the scoring after just four minutes. It was a well taking goal from Chery and his first since joining on a free transfer this summer. Jo Coppen’s miserable day in the Sint Truiden goal really began when he failed to deal with a long range strike from young Malian midfielder Mahamadou Doumbia. The away side did get one back shortly after half-time through Ryoya Ogawa and it was, on the balance of play, a deserved goal.
Yet they conceded almost immediately as Jacob Ondrejka restored the three goal lead. The Swedish winger then took Sint Truiden apart as he grabbed a hat-trick, with Coppens’ making another mistake to gift the 21-year-old a tap in. Anthony Valencia was the sixth goal scorer of the afternoon, with Coppens’ failing to deal well with a ball into the box. The veteran is likely to be replaced next week by Leo Kokubo, who was signed as the replacement for the excellent Zion Suzuki, who was a key player last season.
Pressure will be on Sint Truiden’s head coach Christian Lattanzio, although he can point to a number of key departures in the summer as to why the side are struggling results wise. While defensively they have been poor, at the other end they have created chances. Without the likes of Jarne Steuckers and Aboubakary Koita they look far less potent than last season.
For Antwerp, they have also lost key players and have had a decent start to the season. The performance of Ondrejka should excite the fans, as the player suffered injuries last season that stopped him from putting together a strong campaign.