Anderlecht took second place by beating Westerlo

GAMES On Sunday evening, Anderlecht took the second place in the ranking by beating Westerlo, ranked last, at home. Leader AA Ghent lost against KV Mechelen and also Oostende lost. The gap between Anderlecht and Ghent is now two points.

Anderlecht's performance this season is variable. Against strong opponents, the Mauves usually play excellents matches. But against the smaller teams, there is some clear lack of motivation. And it wasn't different this time. Westerlo kept the nill on scoreboard quite easily for the first 35 minutes of the match and even counter attacked a few times. During the last ten minutes of the first half, the home side increased the pressure. The goal fell in the very last minute of the first half. Gillet took a corner kick by just gently touching the ball so it moved a few centimeters onto the field. Most of the Westerlo players didn't notice the corner kick had actually been taken this way. This allowed Defour to recover the ball, eliminate his direct opponent and pass to Lukebakio who dropped the ball in one time in the box. The visting players were still confused by the situation and Okaka was left alone to score the 1-0.

The Mauves looked for a second goal at the start of the second half, but it was Westerlo that equalised. Anderlecht still wasn't able to turn the tide and even escaped from worse when Cools missed an excellent chance for Westerlo. When Suarez was brought down in the box, the ball went on the penalty spot. In his last game, Gillet scored: 2-1. A bit later, Anderlecht got a second penalty after a hands ball in the box. Suarez claimed the ball from Gillet, but then missed. That way, the game remained exciting up until the last seconds, but the scoreline didn't change anymore.