Rik De Mil: “Very proud of the way our group rose today” | OneFootball

A gratifying and deserved win for Club against Antwerp, which clearly sparked joy in Club coach Rik De Mil.

“I reckon we played a very sensible game today", the coach started out his press talk. “We started out better than Antwerp, but only threatened once through Mats (Rits). After that, Antwerp gained more possession, and I reckoned we play too low. We took that on at half time. I'm also thrilled with our defending today. In the second half, we also made the most of our chances. We remained focused, and the crowd once again backed us with great support. I think it's fair to say that this is a deserved win against a sturdy opponent with a good organisation. Today was also about the details.” Coach De Mil also brushed upon the fit between Lang and Alderweireld. “Of course it's a pity to see Noa (Lang) suspended next week. I don't think he deserved that booking, really, the ref interpreted that incorrectly. Alderweireld and Lang are both adult players who went head to head for a moment, but it all settles down just like that. I think this could have been resolved without excess by the ref instead of awarding a yellow card. Apart from that, I want to commend the way our team rose today. It's what makes me proud as a coach after the beating we had last week.” Finally, De Mil also offered some explanation as to the substitution of Yaremchuk in the second half. “Roman (Yaremchuk) has been very ill for a long time, and suffered from cramps. That's the reason why I took him off. I thanked him for his commitment, as I also know what he has gone through this season. He had been training well this week, however, which is why I allowed him a start today. Then there's Romeo (Vermant), who also came in really well, despite the fact that there had been some question marks behind our decision to bring in those youngsters in the past couple of games. Taking all of this into account, yo ucan say I'm a happy coach today”, Rik De Mil decided. (TM)