Driven by an impressive Ueda, Cercle edge closer to the playoffs!
They aren’t stopping! Heading at full speed towards the play-offs after having fought for a long time at the start of the season for survival, the Groen-Zwart of Cercle are stringing together good performances. After being slowed down last weekend by Royal Antwerp (1-2), currently second in the Belgian top flight, the players of Cercle Bruges got back to winning ways Saturday against Sint-Truiden.
⏹️ Cercle wint met 3-1 tegen STVV na goals van Ayase (2x) en Denkey! Allen naar het Fandorp nu: Jules Verriest trakteert op 3 gratis vaten! 🟢⚫️ #CERSTV pic.twitter.com/gyZkvyND6g
— Cercle Brugge (@cercleofficial) April 15, 2023
A stealthy double for the man in form!
In what was a timid first half from the 22 players, it was not until the 41st minute that Leonardo Lopes obtained a penalty converted by… Ayase Ueda (1-0)! Top scorer for AS Monaco’s sister club this season in the Jupiler Pro League, he would even do it again a few moments later. Taking advantage of a mix-up on the part of the opposing defense, the Japanese international proved to be opportunistic and slotted the ball home (2-0, 45 + 2′).
Kevin Denkey seals the result
After this double for Takumi Minamino’s international teammate, which marked his 17th goal of the season, this allowed Cercle to take the lead before halftime. Even a reduction of it signed by former Lille player Gianni Bruno shortly after the hour mark did not change anything at the end of the match (2-1, 67′).. As it was then Kevin Denkey, who came on with a quarter of an hour left, would then kill all suspense after a counter-attack orchestrated by the duo of Hotić and Ueda (him again!) (3-1, 84′)
17 – Ayase Ueda scored 17 goals this @ProLeagueBE campaign, the highest tally for a @cercleofficial player over a single top-flight season this century. フォワード. pic.twitter.com/Uc75AxOD34
— OptaJohan (@OptaJohan) April 15, 2023
Close to the playoffs!
Thus, the final result was 3-1, the 12th victory for Miron Muslic’s side, perfectly sealed by the decisive Radoslaw Majecki. The Groen-Zwart, now eighth in the table, can thus still hope to play in the JPL playoffs, if they win away to Zulte Waregem on Sunday (6:30 p.m.). Allez les gars, we believe! 💪
