Genk tops Union St.Gilloise to finish regular season unbeaten at home as they secure top spot #2615
Genk 2 Union St.Gilloise 1FT
The Jupiter Belgium pro league has reached its final match of the regular season. Many things have already been decided during the first phase of the season. However, some things remain in the air. The teams that will be competing for the title in the championship round of the season have all been set in stone. However, the order of the top six can still be scrambled around during this final sequence of matches to end the regular season on a high. The league leaders will try to stretch their lead at the top even further and the others in the top six will try to collect as many points as they possibly can before the second phase begins. We have reached match day 30 in the Belgium first division. We will be at the Cegeka Arena in Genk. As the league leaders look to close in on their first League title since 2014. Genk Will host the yellow side of Brussels Union St.Gilloise as we have first against third on the final day of the regular season. Genk currently holds a 1-0 point advantage to end it out. The points will be shut and cut in half during the championship round. However, they will still have a decent lead even when the second phase begins. Outside of taking maximum points to end a remarkable regular season, they have something else on the line. Genk is unbeaten at home this season. If they are to get a result this evening, they would be the first team in 5 years to go unbeaten at home throughout the season. Genk has won three of their last five with their last loss coming in the Belgium cup semi-final on January 15th, their last loss in the league coming December 15th. These are our likely Champions as they're looking for a strong finish to the regular season they are led by Toluwalase Arokodare as he is the league leader in goals with 16 this season. Meanwhile, on the other side of the coin Union St.Gilloise is sitting pretty third in the league. A victory could catapult them over Club Brugge. They have had an interesting season. During the first portion of the season. The first couple of months. They ended up in and around the midsection of the table. However, once they hit their stride there was no looking back as they have been one of the more consistent teams in Belgium Over the recent months. They have climbed down from 10th into the top three. They have already guaranteed themselves a spot in the top six. However, an extra three points to end the home unbeaten run while also looking to close the gap just a little bit further and possibly finish second in the league during the regular season is what is at stake on this Saturday night. They have won four matches in a row in all competitions and in the league have won four of their last five. They are coming into some good form at the moment and looking to take advantage of it. Franjo Ivanovic and Promise David have been the ones to watch in their attack this season. The pair of them 11 goals in the league while having 15 goals and 16 goals respectively across all competitions. These two sides played several months ago in the reverse fixture. It was Union St.Gilloise with a 4-0 victory in Brussels, the biggest result of their entire season. On Saturday night, we would see the final edition of the regular season in the Belgium Pro League.
Genk came swinging out of the blocks. In the 5th minute Christopher Bonsu Baah as he strikes from the side of the box clashes into the defense. They seem to only be warming up. In the 10th minute, they came forward again and looked relentless as they moved the ball very precisely. Jarne Steuckers retrieved the ball from outside the box before unloading a flying strike into the teeth of the defense. Again. The yellow side of Brussels has handled the early attacking play fairly well. Things persisted onwards with the home side continuing to build up their confidence, putting together some strong sequences. In the 17th minute Christopher Bonsu Baah makes a run into the box Jarne Steuckers puts the ball just behind him. He retrieves it as his strike from the side Rams into the defense again. In the 19th minute, they continue to push the opposing defense back in their box. Toluwalase Arokodare put forward a headed pass Konstantinos Karetsas struck it toward the left side. Unfortunately shortly afterwards Ibrahima Sory Bangoura had to be replaced following an apparent injury Nikolas Sattlberger came in to replace him. The change made did not disrupt the tempo in which the league leaders were distributing. In the 27th minute, Nikolas Sattlberger collects the ball from inside the box and drives it into the defense. Matte Smets collects a follow-up trying to put it into space but the yellow wall of Brussels gets in the way of it. Shortly after one themselves a free kick outside the area off to the side. Christopher Bonsu Baah supplies the ball into space Toluwalase Arokodare struts forward as he narrowly gets his head on the end of it but misfires. In the 29th minute, Union Saint-Gilloise finally got themselves into the opposing area Franjo lvanovic strikes, Mike Penders comes up with the stop. In the 33rd minute, the league leaders returned fire Konstantinos Karetsas strikes from outside the box. The Greek youngster hits it well as Anthony Morris makes the save. Just a moment later they opened it up from distance again. Bryan Heynen strikes from outside the box. Anthony Morris with another top save. This sort of habit of striking from a distance only continues In the 37th minute Christopher Bonsu Baah looks to stretch his range, pulling it towards the corner. Anthony Morris gets his hands on it. He spills it but then grabs it. In the 45th minute, Sofiane Boufal looks to get his team back into it after having been dominated most of the first half. His effort from the side of the box does unfortunately run into the defense. Genk had another pair of chances coming around the pipe. In the 45th minute, Zakaria El Ouahdi sends a cross into the box Toluwalase Arokodare gets a very very good look on it as he misses to the left. However, in the closing seconds of the first half, Zakaria El Ouahdi makes it run down the side. He takes an incredibly complicated angle but strikes the ball with confidence. Anthony Morris has to reposition himself as he pushes the ball over the goal. That would signify the end of the first half as neither side has been able to break through as of yet it stands at 0-0.
Genk has come close on several occasions. This has been pretty one-sided in a lot of ways despite not having broken through yet. The yellow side of Brussels is struggling to move the ball very effectively and only seldomly has they tested the opposing goal. Genk seems to hold all the cards. However, a strong start to the second half from the visitors could end up playing a big part of it. Genk gets on after it minutes into the second half. In the 47th minute, Jarne Steuckers rips one from outside the box as it smashes into the post. Tolu Arokodare picks up the follow-up as he looks to put it wide inches away from the opening goal. In the 50th minute, Union St Gilliose provided a little bit of pushback this time Anan Khalaili delivered a ball into the area Franjo lvanovic drove it over to the right side. Noah Sadiki comes right back with a chance. Again it is well taken but again just shifts just wide of the Target. The visitors aim to make things interesting as they try to tame the domination. However, it didn't work as well as they would have thought. As Genk Got right back into it. They win themselves a corner in the 52nd minute Joris Kayembe gets his head on the end of it as he puts it wide. However, They get it back into a dangerous position as Joris Kayembe places a headed pass forward Christopher Bonsu Baah puts his foot through it from distance as it ricochets off of the defense. In the 59th minute, Promise David comes into the right side as he cuts it however, his effort runs into the defense. Things started to heat up as the minute started to pass by. Genk has dominated but has he yet to break through. Meanwhile, the visitors provided a little bit of pushback in the second half but still no signs of life. However, the Bell would eventually be answered. In the 69th minute, James Steuckers delivers a cross from outside the box that is perfectly looped into Nikolas Sattlberger as he taps the ball with his foot, taking initial touch before shifting it into the center Toluwalase Arokodare gets on the end of it as he slams it into the bottom corner as the answer and the wait has ended Toluwalase Arokodare give him a 1-0 lead his 18th goal of the season. An incredibly well-crafted goal as they grab a deserving lead. The minutes started to go by rather quickly. The visitors weren't giving up on it though. In the 75th minute Kamiel Van de Perre is played in by Kevin Mac Allister. He takes a powerful strike on goal Mike Penders makes the stop. With less than 10 minutes to go the visitor. Still looking for a potential equalizer. In the 82nd minute Henok Teklab follows through on a touch from the side of the box but ends up whipping it over the corner. In the 83rd minute, however, Genk gave them the kiss of death. Noah Adedeji-Sternberg pushes the ball forward into the box substitute Hyun-Gyu Oh makes it run just as the ball is arriving sending it into the bottom corner Genk takes a 2-0 lead. The 9th goal of the Season for The South Korean striker as he scores after having been on the pitch for less then 120 seconds. However, despite that, the yellow side of Brussels gets one back. In the 89th minute, Anouar Ait El Hadj receives the ball near the left side of the box. He takes a dribble to create separation before whipping a strike into the bottom right corner past the goalkeeper as they minimize the deficit. However, the league leaders managed to hold off a late push from Union St.Gilloise as the full-time whistle went on regularly season Genk completed The duration of the regular season without a loss at home as they got revenge from their earlier disease to take a 2-1 victory off Union Saint Gillose.
The regular season has completely wrapped up as it comes to a close. Genk & Union Saint Gillose has not met for the last time this season. There will be two more of these meetings before the entirety of the Jupiter Belgium pro league concludes. Genk with the much-deserving winners become the first team in 5 years to end the campaign with a spotless record at home. They seem to be on a crash course towards their first title. Since 2014. There's still plenty to be done with eight more matches left to play to decide this season. The league will disperse and we will see the points cut in half. As there still will be eight, incredibly valuable matches left to go. We will see the best of the best in Belgium. There are no easy matches left this campaign although Genk is positioned well there's no guarantee that Gap can't be minimized very quickly. Every match from here on out is magnified and will count as significantly more important than any fixture they have had throughout the season. Genk finishes the season top of the league. They currently hold a 12-point advantage In front of Club Brugge that could be cut down a little bit. However, they will go into the second part of the season as the favorite as the trophy is well within their sight. Meanwhile, Saint Union Gilliose will finish the season in third place. Genk was the better team on Saturday night and deserved their points as they dominated this from start to finish in the second half. We saw a little bit of pushback from the visitors, but truly we saw the league leaders zero in on a perfect season at home. It will be a slight break before things get back underway. Genk, Union St.Gilloise, Royal Antwerp, Anderlecht, Gent, and Club Brugge will all play each other twice in an eight-game extravaganza to end the season. The regular season is over Genk earns perfection at home with a 2-1 victory Union St.Gilloise finishes in 3rd. As the fun is just about to begin.
