Essex Senior League double header (Friday 13th/Saturday 14th February) - Lusher brace helps Buckhurst Hill defeat Basildon United to continue fine run whilst White Ensign & Frenford battle to hard earned point

(Action from Saturday's contest between White Ensign & Frenford at Burroughs Park in Great Wakering)

Essex Senior League, Friday 13th/Saturday 14th February

This weekend saw me do an Essex Senior League double & my weekend of football began on Friday night as I attended another game at Oakside, home of Redbridge FC, as they were hiring out their 3G pitch this evening to Buckhurst Hill for their home Essex Senior League contest against Basildon United, this is because the pitch at Roding Lane, the hosts home, was not playable, as is the case with most grass pitches currently due to the poor weather experienced lately. Let's take a look at what happened in Barkingside....

Buckhurst Hill Vs Basildon United (Friday 13th February)

The hosts were embarking on a very good run, unbeaten in twelve games with their last defeat coming on October 25th, it has seen the side to the cusp of the top five, the play off places, and a win this evening would see Hill climb into fifth spot on goal difference, and with games in hand too, it would certainly strengthen their chances of nailing down a top five spot too before the season is out.

They were also up against a Basildon side going through a tough period of form too, since the turn of the year they had lost all five games they had played and in fact had only picked up two wins in nine, losing the other seven, so they were desperate to stop this run continuing although not many gave them much hope of doing so in this contest, but this is the ESL and strange things do happen.  

So, how would one pan out, well, the hosts started on the front foot in the first fifteen minutes or so as the visitors took time to settle, Hill volleyed a decent chance just over the bar but it was the visitors who came oh so close to taking a spectacular lead when a brilliant long range effort from Brandon Dadson had home keeper Christian North beaten all ends up but the ball thumped against the woodwork.

And only a couple of superb defensive blocks denied the visitors again, one off the line in a mad scramble inside the hosts penalty area, it was a warning to them that The Bees were not going to be an easy target this evening and knew they were in for a tough game, Hill then sent another effort over the bar but in the 33rd minute they did break the deadlock, Liam Foster sending in a lovely cross from the right and Harry Lusher sent a decent header beyond Enos Duah, handing the hosts a slender lead.

It had been a very competitive first forty five minutes and that header would be the difference at half time, the visitors certainly had the better chances but both sides had created some & Hill managed to take one of theirs and heading into the second period the Bees certainly started on the front foot and looking for a route back into the contest, however Hill then began to threaten once again & in the 56th minute struck with pretty much an identical goal they had netted in the first half.

It came from the right hand side again, Foster applying another decent ball into the box for Lusher to glance a lovely header beyond Duah and giving the home side some breathing space, and for a short period after that goal you felt they could go on and win this one by more and make it more comfortable.

That didn't happen though & fair play to Basildon they were certainly not playing like a side who were on such a poor run of form, things just hadn't gone well for them in this period, and Hill had enough in them to keep the visitors at bay whilst always looking a threat when they did counter on their opponents.

So, the hosts certainly were not at their maximum this evening, but they were the ones who grabbed the goals when it mattered, Basildon were disappointed not to come away with anything themselves, and the two goals they conceded were exactly the same and they would have been disappointed to have conceded in that way on two occasions, but they could certainly take a lot of positives from their showing in this one.

It's thirteen matches unbeaten for the hosts who can do no wrong right now, an amazing season to date and one that could become even more amazing come the end of the season, for Basildon it's now six defeats in a row but no doubt they will end that run soon if they continue putting in the effort they did tonight.

Full time Buckhurst Hill 2 Basildon United 0

Onto Saturday now, and I decided to pop over to Burroughs Park in Great Wakering to see White Ensign take on relegation threatened Frenford, let's see how that one panned out.....

White Ensign Vs Frenford (Saturday 14th February)

Ensign began the weekend in 13th spot and seven points off the top ten places in the division, Frenford of course have much more worrying matters to contend with as they are bottom of the division and four points from safety with only twelve games remaining in the season.

Tbe hosts form had not been to bad since the turn of the year, yes they had suffered poor losses to Barking and Romford, but other than that they had been unbeaten in their other four games they had played, two of which saw them progress into the latter stages of both ESL cup competitions, the Errington Challenge Cup and Peter Butcher Memorial Trophy, and in their last league outing they defeated Hackney Wick 3-0 at Burroughs Park.

Frenford on the other hand had not picked up any wins this side of new year, they at least ended 2025 with a superb win over Romford at The Drive, however since that win they had only picked up one point in five games and had shipped fifteen goals in that time, not the form you want when you trying to get out of that drop zone, somewhere they have occupied pretty much the whole campaign.

Could they began their attempt at fighting their way out of trouble today, well they certainly started well and were ahead after just ten minutes, Correy Davidson finding himself through on goal to round keeper Jordan Williams and from an angle slot the ball into the net, and they should have doubled their lead as well as Ensign took an age to settle into the contest, and close range header somehow kept out by the hosts.

As the half went on the hosts did show some signs of life after what was a very slow start, but they went into the changing rooms at half time a goal behind and knowing they needed a big improvement in the second period for sure, Frenford would have been delighted with their first half showing, exactly what they require if they are to survive this season, but the first fifteen minutes of the second half did not go to plan.

This is because five minutes after the restart, a good move from the hosts ended with Frenford leaving Ralphie Harrold totally free in the middle of the penalty area, and the Ensign player took a touch before firing past an exposed Dominic Alexandru in the visiting goal, and just before the hour mark Ensign had turned it around.

It was another preventable goal too and more sloppy defending from the visitors, Ben Sargent, who was making his 150th appearance for the home side today, played a long pass along the floor and it somehow found it's way through to Mechack Asuka who burst clear of the defence to slot past Alexandru who had showed him rather a lot of that side of the goal, so it seemed a simple finish for such a quality forward, and now Frenford found themselves behind once again and feeling a familiar scenario.

But, rather than cave in, they rolled their sleeves up and seven minutes restored parity, and it was the home side whose turn it was to conceded a rather sloppy goal, a cross from the left was far to deep and overhit and appeared to be going off for a goal kick, Ensign obviously thought this too and switched off, but, the visitors kept the ball in and sent in a cross which found Davidson, and he duly volleyed home for his second of the contest, and made it 2-2.

This certainly galvanized Frenford who could now smell a chance of victory, and Ensign had to dig deep to remain on level terms, they themselves were a danger when they went forward and Frenford had to be wary of this as they did not want to get nothing from a contest they had been very much part of, as it turned neither side could find a winner though, meaning both sides picked up a very well earned point.

Full time White Ensign 2 Frenford 2

There were six other games that took place at the weekend, only two actually fell foul of the weather surprisingly, so well done to all of those who managed to get games on, here are the results of those games.....

Athletic Newham 1 (Eduardo Carvalho 19) 

Harwich & Parkeston 2 (Joe Knight 39,54)

Hackney Wick 0 

Ilford 2 (Soloman Ofori 26, Idris Aminu 83)

Halstead Town 1 (Billy Jamison 75) 

Hullbridge Sports 0

Little Oakley 1 (Rory Harman 75) 

Sporting Bengal United 2 (Makai Johnsin-Reid 54, Darnell Fuller 88)

Romford 0 (Rhian Fowler sent off 45, Christian Adu Gyamfi sent off 90) 

Great Wakering Rovers 4 (Shaun Gittleson 63, Max Gnandi 74, 90+5, Harrison Topliss 86) 

Saffron Walden Town 2 (Jordan Gent 5, Sam Deering 33)

West Essex 3 (Charma Torsiello 11, Reece Simpson 64,69)

Some very surprising results amongst those contests, let's see how they affected the ESL Table after the weekend was done and dusted.....

Well, a huge shock at The War Memorial saw Oakley lose at home to Sporting Bengal, and with GWR thumping nine man Romford at Mayesbrook Park, the gap is down to just two points at the top now, llford went back into fifth spot and the final play off place after their win at Hackney Wick, Buckhurst Hill had gone into fifth on goal difference briefly after their win on Friday night but they are now in sixth.

Halstead are only three points off fifth now themselves after a late win over Hullbridge, leaping above Woodford Town (their game against Barking was postponed on Friday evening) and Saffron Walden (who lost at home to struggling West Essex in another shock result today) meaning their are now only five points between Ilford in fifth and Walden in ninth.

Frenford, despite battling to a point today, are now further from safety (six points) after Sporting's remarkable result today, and with West Essex also pulling off a surprise win today, the bottom side are now five points behind them as well, West remain just a point from safety themselves, and after Athletic Newham's loss at home to Harwich, they are now right in a relegation fight, as are Romford, with only four points between 16th and 19th.

Despite Friday night's loss at Oakside, Basildon do have an eight point gap to the bottom two and as long as they can pick up a couple of results you feel they should be ok, above that teams in those mid table positions are more than likely to be safe and in fact may well be looking up rather than down as the season enters it's final two months or so.

Anyway, many more games took place than I certainly expected this weekend, which was good, and much more for me to include in the blog, which I will conclude their for this edition, hope you enjoyed reading, thank you for taking the time too.....  

West Ham United U21 1 RSC Anderlecht U21 0 - Dan Cummings first half goal enough for West Ham to see off Anderlecht & end their Premier League International Cup campaign on a high & deny visitors passage to next stage

Premier League International Cup Group D, Wednesday 11th February

On a sodden Wednesday evening in Dagenham, I was there to watch some U21 football and the final Group D game at Victoria Road as West Ham welcomed Belgian side RSC Anderlecht to East London, the Hammers were trying to end their campaign with on a high after three defeats from three so far, whereas the visitors knew a win would take them through into the next stage of the competition.

Now Group D consisted of eight teams, with the top two going through to the next stage of the tournament, Borussia Dortmund & Manchester United occupied those top two places, both on nine points from their four games played, Anderlecht were two points behind those teams and knew a win would take them through in top spot having picked up seven points from their three games thus far.

West Ham occupied the final position in the Group after losing all three of their games so far, but could they deny the Belgian's a route into the next round and finish their otherwise disappointing PL International Cup campaign for this season on a high, they had pushed Dortmund all the way in their last outing but came out on the end of a narrow loss, so Anderlecht would not have this their own way for sure & would have to work hard for the win, if it was to come.

The visitors certainly stared on the front foot looking for that early goal to settle them down, but this never came and once the Hammers settled they began to press high and cause the visitors some uncomfortable moments in their final third, and with 17 minutes on the clock the press brought about the opening goal, Tyron Akpata won the ball off the visitors before nudging the ball into the path of Dan Cummings before he lashed home a brilliant strike and hand the hosts the early advantage.

Anderlecht tried to respond and saw an effort blocked by defender Jephtah Medine loop up and onto the bar and out for a corner, and that West Ham press almost yielded a second goal when Joe Scanlon forced the defence into an error, rounded the keeper, but could only place his effort against the visitors post, Cummings then forced a good stop from visitors keeper Michiel Haentjens.

The visitors ended the half strongly though and Hammers keeper Tom Wooster had to be smart to smother a late effort, and they continued to throw bodies forward in the second period too as they knew they needed two goals at least to qualify for the next stage, Wooster had to make a good save at his near post from Amine Mahroug early in the second half.

Anderlecht were a threat from set plays, Alexander De Ridder crosses were a constant threat, with Kais Barry & Terry Van de Ven both heading decent chances off target, but the hosts defence stood up to the majority of what was thrown at them as they battled gamely to maintain that lead they had earned early in the first period.

West Ham though did have chances to kill the game off on the counter as the visitors committed bodies forward, Riley Hargan struck the outside of the post from outside the box, & another break saw the wrong option taken and the chance snuffed out, meaning it remained tense as the game went into the latter stages.

Van de Ven then volleyed over and more late pressure from the visitors was repelled by the hosts who held on to record a fine win to end their campaign on a positive note, and thus denying Anderlecht a passage into the next round as they suffered their first defeat in the competition when it mattered the most, meaning Dortmund and United go through from Group D.

Sadly this wasn't the end of the battle as there were some rather unsavoury scenes after the final whistle, chiefly caused by the manager (I assume!!!) of Anderlecht who refused to shake hands with anyone from the hosts on more than one occasion, made a bee line for the referee who he wasn't happy with, this caused some friction between both sides and it ended with some loosing their heads, mainly the visiting players, two of which totally lost theirs, punches were thrown and plenty of handbags scattered too as it threatened to get really ugly.

Thankfully some sort of order was restored, but it really was not the end to the evening anyone wanted, Anderlecht were clearly frustrated at losing the game and going out as a result, but the actions of their manager and some of their players wasn't great, and rather embarrassing as well, but sometimes passions can run high, this is a competitive sport so there you go.

Anyway well done to the young Hammers side who battled hard for that win, they go out as well but they go out with their heads held high for sure and at least end their campaign with some points to show for it.

Full time West Ham United U21 1 RSC Anderlecht U21 0

Bowers & Pitsea 5 Takeley 1 - A brace from MOTM Michael Bareck helped Bowers & Pitsea to victory over Takeley, sending the hosts back into the Isthmian North play off zone & see the visitors drop back into the bottom four

Isthmian League North, Saturday 7th February

The first Saturday in February saw me over at a local game at The Len Salmon Stadium, and it brought together two sides who used to do battle in the Essex Senior League, Bowers & Pitsea, who were promoted out of that division some years ago now up against a Takeley side who won promotion via the playoffs last season and were embarking on their very first season at this level.

Bowers themselves have been as high as the Premier Division until they came back down to Step Four again, and they are looking to get back to Step Three again and sat just outside the play off places in the North Division prior to kick off, and just the two points behind fifth placed Gorleston, fourth placed Stanway Rovers (who also came up from the Senior League last season) and only four points off third placed Waltham Abbey. 

The gap to the top two was much bigger so these sides are most likely playing for a place in the post season, with Felixstowe & Walton United & Maldon & Tiptree well ahead of the rest, so Bowers with victory could end up as high as fourth come the end of the day, they were up against a Takeley side they had already played three times this season too, a 0-0 draw in the FA Cup (Bowers winning the replay 2-0 at The Len Salmon) and a 3-0 win at Takeley in the league, they they would have been confident of victory here. (Although several months had gone by since)

Bowers are also eight matches unbeaten, five of those wins too, and with the visitors down in 18th and only above the relegation zone on goal difference, you could be forgiven for thinking this would be a foregone conclusion, but, Takeley had been on a four match unbeaten run themselves until they lost a big game at home to fellow relegation threatened Downham Town last time out, which would have set them back a bit.

But draws against Brantham Athletic & Concord Rangers followed by a superb win at Witham Town before a 5-0 thrashing of Lowestoft Town preceded that, so they were looking to get back to that sort of form and hoping that loss at home to second bottom Downham was just a blip, although Bowers would be a much tougher assignment you felt compared to those sides, two of which were in the bottom four.

Takeley though knew if they could knit another run together they could put some daylight between themselves and the bottom four, and starting here at Bowers would certainly give them a lot of confidence going forward, but after just seven minutes they fell behind and it was all down to them as well, a poor headed back pass towards keeper Jarvis Monk saw Michael Bareck intercept, and he duly rounded the keeper to slot in from an angle and hand Bowers an early advantage.

And that advantage was doubled just before the quarter hour mark, Bareck turning provider this time by playing a ball to Jon Evans who placed a lovely finish beyond Monk into the far corner, the hosts were in total control and Takeley already had a mountain to climb before they had even got going.

Bowers dominated for the opening twenty five minutes or so and could have added to their lead but sent a couple of glancing headers wide, when Takeley did finally settle, they created a couple of decent chances, one effort deflecting off the post, and another forcing a fine diving save from home keeper Jo Whitney, Takeley knew if they could grab the next goal it would give them the momentum and a possible route back into the contest.

Whitney had to deny the visitors early in the second period as well, but, nine minutes into the second half calamity for the visitors as they handed the hosts another goal, Monk attempted to clear with Jamie Salmon closing him down, and the smashed the clearance against Salmon's head and the ball went back past Monk and as he chased the ball back it beat him into the net, a mess of a goal to concede but Bowers now had a three goal cushion.

Bareck was putting in a MOTM performance sure, and he should have added his second of the game and Bowers fourth when after Kai Regrave had played a wonderful ball across the box, all Bareck had to do was apply the finishing touch at the far post, but he could not even find the target, despite this Takeley actually had a lot of the ball after going 3-0 behind, they did test Whitney again before they did pull a goal back with eleven minutes to go, substitute Joseph Pullen powering home a decent header, game on perhaps?

Well, no, because pretty much from the restart, Bowers restored their three goal cushion, and it was Bareck who fired home a brilliant strike, capping his MOTM performance with two goals and a assist to boot, and any sniff of a way back into the game for the visitors was well and truly snuffed out.

And with four minutes left of the contest, Bowers added another, substitute Elton Tettey waltzing into the box before firing a left footed shot past Monk, the scoreline was probably harsh on the visitors but they had shot themselves in the foot twice and also conceded after they got themselves a lifeline, and you cannot do that against a Bowers team who have so much firepower.

It's a result that takes the hosts up into fourth spot and into the play off places and extends their unbeaten run to nine, whereas for the visitors this actually drops them into the bottom four and the relegation spots on goal difference, such was the damage this result did to it, and that's back to back defeats now for Takeley, not the week they wanted for sure.

Full time Bowers & Pitsea 5 Takeley 1

 

 

White Ensign 3 Hackney Wick 0 - Goals from Albie Keith, Riley Weir & Joseph Atoki help White Ensign to all three points in their Essex Senior League contest against Hackney Wick

Essex Senior League, Wednesday 4th February

My first Essex Senior League game since late December found me at my closest ground in the division over at Burroughs Park where tenants White Ensign were taking on Hackney Wick, and despite the poor weather lately a dry sunny day meant the pitch was playable although as some people said, it definitely took a stud and was very soft underfoot.  

But it was game on at least and with a dry forecast for the evening, their would be no issues of that changing, the hosts came into this game off the back of a disappointing loss on the same ground to Romford at the weekend, losing that one 2-0 which left them down in 15th spot although they were ten points above the bottom two and if truth be told shouldn't really be worrying too much about that.

A win though would certainly not be sniffed at, they were eight points off the top ten as things stood, and that side in tenth place were Hackney Wick, who themselves had a tough game against second bottom side West Essex at the weekend but managed to come out 2-1 winners in that game, meaning they were seven points off the play off places as a result, so if they could grab a win here that gap would be down to just four.

Both sides had been mixed though lately in terms of form, so it was hard to predict what outcome would be in this game, who would be able to get themselves in front first, if there was to be any goals of course, well in the 18th minute the deadlock was broken, and in fine style as well, Albie Keith, Ensign's midfielder, saw the ball drop to him about twenty five yards out or so, and he fired a wonderful effort beyond visiting keeper Mohammed Nasim and into the bottom corner, it was a lovely strike and meant the hosts had a slender advantage.

Wick tried to respond and looked dangerous, but any efforts they did muster were easy for home keeper Jack Sexton, it was becoming a bit of a battle on a pitch that was cutting up badly in places, but with all the rain recently that really isn't much of a surprise, it was a roll your sleeves up type of pitch for sure, and not good if your a side who likes to keep the ball on the floor.

Ensign were playing some good stuff too, and they knitted together a lovely goal just before half time, and a final pass into the path of Riley Weir saw the forward compose himself before slotting past Nasim and hand Ensign a two goal cushion heading into the half time break, Wick had just made too many errors for their liking and certainly had a lot to discuss in their changing room at the break.

For Ensign the message would have been keep going and continue to do what you've been doing, and this continued much to their management's pleasure, and just before the hour mark Wick could not clear a corner, and the ball dropped to centre half Joseph Atoki who absolutely leathered the ball home from inside the box, and it looked unlikely that Wick had any sort of comeback in them.

The visitors continued to try and get something back to maybe cause some alarm amongst the hosts, but this was made more difficult when substitute Khaneil Brown was booked twice in a few minutes for pretty much the same offence, pulling back an attacker who was trying to break clear, his and Wick's argument was it was his only two offences, but both were preventing an attack and in the referees mind were both worthy of bookings.

This meant Wick had to play the final fifteen minutes or so with ten men, and to be honest they continued to attack but Ensign were more than a match for it and kept them at bay and looked fairly comfortable in doing so and never looked like handing Wick a way back into the contest, and ran out 3-0 winners to bounce back well from that defeat at the weekend.

It means Ensign rise two places to 13th spot and are five points off tenth placed Wick now, the visitors themselves failed to close that gap to the top five, and on this showing will probably not make that post season party, but they are still in their first season at this level, so to be even in the top ten is a good effort at this stage, but well played Ensign this evening, it certainly was a very good showing and it also puts more breathing room between them and decreases any danger of getting sucked into a scrap down towards the lower regions of the division.

Full time White Ensign 3 Hackney Wick 0

My blog from a weekend of football in Belgium covering the Belgian Jupiler Pro League as I visited RAAL La Louviere, SV Zulte Waregem, Standard de Liege for the Belgian Classic & a local derby at OH Leuven

(Action from La Louviere Vs Gent in Friday nights contest at the Easi Arena)

Belgian Jupiler Pro League - Round 23 (Friday 30th Jan - Sunday 1st February)

The final weekend of January which ran into February saw Round 23 of the top division in Belgium take place and I was in attendance of four of the eight games over the weekend to take in some more European football and visit some more places and grounds for the very first time.

The weekend began in La Louviere, the capital of Centre region on Friday night (and after a dash over to Dunkirk in the French Ligue Two on Saturday afternoon, for a look at what happened in that contest, click here as I did a separate blog for that game https://pedroslocalfootiefix.blogspot.com/2026/02/dunkerque-0-annecy-1-billemaz-first.html) it was back into Belgium and the West Flanders region to the city of Waregem for a Saturday Evening match.

Sunday then saw me head to the popular City of Liege for the Belgium Classic as it's known before the final game of the weekend and of my Belgian Jupiler Pro League coverage ended in Leuven, the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant which is in the Flemish Region of the country.

Some nice places visited then, but what about the football, well let's now see what happened in each of the games attended, starting on Friday night in La Louviere.....

Friday 30th January

RAAL La Louviere Vs KAA Gent (Easi Arena)

This pitted fourth bottom (13th) against 5th, the hosts occupied the final relegation round spot and were just two points behind Westerlo who occupied the final spot in the next section of the division which have the chance to qualify for European places, however they were up against a Gent side who were inside that top six, The Championship Round, although that was only a gap of nine points.

And the hosts two games so far in 2026 have seen them take on two other sides in the top three, they won at Club Brugge in one those and narrowly lost at home to Sint-Truiden in the other, so they will certainly not be overawed by their opponents today although Gent have started 2026 in fine fettle, netting eight goals in total in their wins against Standard de Liege & Anderlecht, so both sides were heading into this one with a fair bit of confidence. 

After having one of the nicest pizza's I've ever eaten in a small restaurant near the ground, we headed to what is a new ground for the hosts, built last year, called the Easi Arena, which is next to their old ground which is completely different to the new one, an athletics stadium, the new stadium holds just over 8,000, and their was 5,021 there to watch this Friday night game and get the top division up and running for the weekend. 

It's a nice arena I must say and the seating well banked and plenty of leg room too, so a big tick there, would we get a good game to match, well the visitors certainly started well and curled a decent effort just wide of the post, but La Louviere settled and started to get themselves into the game, and they came oh so close to taking the lead when a free kick struck the bar.

The hosts had a couple of players who were running at defenders, which they hate, and they were certainly causing the visitors issues, Gent then had a great chance but headed over from close range, meaning the game was goalless heading into the break, their was a good atmosphere inside the stadium, and they were witnessing a tight contest for sure.

Would the deadlock be broken in the second half? Well, eleven minutes into it it was and it was Gent who got in front, a lovely cross from the left by Tiago Araujo found Hong Hyun-Seok at the far post who headed home unmarked, giving the very small number of visiting fans, around 20, something to cheer about, whilst the rest of the ground fell silent momentarily.

La Louviere though responded well and took it too the visitors, and roared on by a very noisy home crowd, finally levelled things up in the 81st minute although whether it was meant was up for debate, Gillot curled in a free kick from way out bit appeared to over hit it, but saw it catch out keeper Roef who saw it sail over him and into the top corner, cuing mass noise and celebration in the stadium.

Could they go on and win it, well not quite, as neither side could find a winner, in fact the visitors came the closest to winning it with a golden chance, but it meant the game ended all square and each side picked up another point. An enjoyable way to begin the weekend for sure!!!

Full time RAAL La Louviere 1 KAA Gent 1

Saturday 31st January

SV Zulte Waregem Vs KVC Westerlo (Elindus Arena)

Before the weekend began the hosts came into this one in tenth spot and only three points above the relegation round places and were up against a visiting side who were only two places and a point below them, so this was a pretty important game for both as the winner could pull themselves further away from the danger zone, and the losers could find themselves closer to that bottom four.

The hosts had certainly been involved in a couple of exciting games this year, an hugely important win over KRC Genk was followed by a seven goal thriller against Club Brugge which sadly for Waregem went against them, Westerlo themselves had only picked up a point in their two games of 2026, losing at home to second bottom Cercle Brugge before they managed a decent point at sixth placed Mechelen.  

The Elindus Arena is a proper stadium, and sits on the edge of a lake and a nice park, it's a very nice setting, it has a capacity of around 12,500 and although it was far from full, around 6,500 were inside the stadium, it still produced a decent atmosphere for sure.

The hosts started the much the better side and could easily have been two goals up in the opening fifteen minutes, but they didn't take their chances and were made to pay in the 18th minute when with pretty much their first real attempt or attack of any note, Westerlo grabbed the lead, a ball in by Ourega found Nacho Ferri who could not miss from close range with his head, stunning the home crowd.

The home side seemed to loose their way a bit after that and what had looked like a promising evening for them was slowly becoming a frustrating one, and early in the second half it could have become even more of a bad evening as Westerlo had two great chances to put this game to bed as they came out of the traps with the bit between their teeth in the early part of the second period, but they could not find the net, and as the half went on the hosts were building up a head of steam again and creating plenty of chances.

But, it just wasn't their day in front of goal and they could not convert any of those chances that came their way, the visitors again had a chance to end the game but couldn't, and by the end they were clinging on for dear life as Zulte Waregem did everything but score, and the visitors could celebrate a very important win and grab their first win of 2026, how they did who knows but the hosts fall to defeat after what was a superb game and on another day would have probably won the game.

Full time SV Zulte Waregem 0 KVC Westerlo 1

Sunday 1st February

Standard de Liege Vs RSC Anderlecht (Stade Maurice Dufrasne)

Sunday afternoon was the battle between to giants of the Belgium game as 'The Belgian Classic' saw eighth placed Standard de Liege welcome fourth placed Anderlecht (positions were before the weekend began) with both hoping to end the season in the top six places and take part in that Championship Round at the end of the regular season.

This looks a tall order for the hosts currently based on form, they went into the winter break in the top six, but a terrible start to the year has seen them lose to Sporting Charleroi & KAA Gent without scoring, meaning at the start of the weekend they had dropped out of the top six and were five points off it, and in fact were closer to the bottom four than the top six, Anderlecht's 2026 so far hadn't been that good either, defeat to KAA Gent was followed by a very disappointing 0-0 draw at home to bottom side Dender, so neither side were in top form it was fair to say!!!

But this game is a biggie in this country, both clubs dislike each other and always wants to get one over the other, so to have the chance to attend such a fixture was a privilege for sure, it's one of the biggest fixtures on the Belgian calendar, so it was no surprise that the Stade Maurice Dufrasne, which has a capacity of 27,760, had almost 24,000 in it and boy were they creating some kind of atmosphere.

It really is a magnificent stadium, and when pretty much full is something else I can tell you, you could tell how big this game was and how much it means for both clubs and their fans, both were in poor form but that goes out of the window in such games in the main, who could grab the initiative in this one?

Just before the half hour mark the hosts grabbed the advantage, sending the home fans wild, it saw a ball in from the left hand side by Said find Karamoko who could not miss from close range, and oh boy did the atmosphere go up a notch after that, although Anderlecht then had two golden chances to level the game up, but failed with both, meaning the hosts would hold a slender lead heading into the break, it was tight, tense and keenly fought, unsurprisingly!!!

That atmosphere I was going on about, well after the players had taken the field for the second half, the home fans behind the goal decided to let off quite a few pyros, red ones, and at one point all you could see was red as the whole stadium was engulfed in it, breathing was fun, not, but man I had not seen anything like it, the Anderlecht fans tried to respond with their own pyros but they were nothing compared to the red mist that was created by the home fans.

This delayed the second half for a few minutes, but when it did get going again, and we could all see and breath again, Standard took a massive foot hold in the game when they doubled their lead three minutes after the break, Said turning scorer this time by lofting over keeper Coosemans beautifully to send the stadium bouncing with joy, well apart from the visiting section which was becoming increasingly annoyed.

After that the visitors did create some openings but were found wanting in front of goal, Standard were trying to kill the game with a third on the counter but they couldn't breach the visitors back line again, but they didn't need to and ran out winners of The Belgian Classic and picked up a much needed win in terms of their league position and also confidence too, and gaining bragging rights over their bitter rivals as well.

Full time saw the visiting fans give their players what for to put it mildly, and the Anderlecht players were made to stand in front of them and take it, it was an incredible spectacle whilst the home fans chanted some rather unsavoury insults at the visiting section, they really do not like each other that's for sure.

The home players went over to their fans and celebrated with them, I am not sure anyone from the home crowd wanted to leave, they were lapping it all up, a big win against a big rival, nothing comes close to it does it, what an experience and what an atmosphere, it certainly did not disappoint!!!

Full time Standard de Liege 2 RSC Anderlecht 0

OH Leuven Vs KV Mechelen (King Power at Den Dreef Stadium)

The final game of the weekend on Sunday evening saw a local derby between third bottom Leuven and sixth placed Mechelen heading into the weekend, with the hosts four points off getting out of the bottom four and looking to try and give themselves a chance of catching sides above them, Mechelen themselves were trying to cement a spot in the top six, anything other than a win could see them drop out of it if other results went against them.

Leuven though had failed to score in four straight games, two of those were goalless so a couple of points had been gained, and their last two, both this year, were very positive performances against the top two in the division, one of those was a 0-0 and the other a narrow 1-0 defeat, so they were solid you could say but they needed more against a Mechelen side who had also narrowly lost to the league leaders before grabbing a draw against a struggling Westerlo side.

Before we headed to the ground we took a stroll into the centre of Leuven it I must say it's a lovely place to visit, plenty of bars and restaurants and lots of sights to see as well, we found a nice place that did good food and beer, I had a couple of cherry beers called Kwak Rouge, it was 8% and rather tasty, it went down to easily so the walk back to the ground was in good spirits!!!

Now the Den Dreef, or King Power at Den Dreef, is a nice neat 10,000 capacity stadium, the King Power bit is from the owners, the same owners of Leicester City, who own both clubs, Leuven are a much smaller obviously but no less important of course, although with this being a derby there were only 5,919 inside the arena, their were an healthy contingent from Mechelen though, another fine city by the way, who were making plenty of noise.

The early exchanges saw Mechelen go close and were only denied by a brilliant double save from hosts keeper Leysen, whilst down the other end the hosts were denied by visiting stopper Miras who tipped over a curling effort brilliantly, but just before the half hour mark a blatant tug of the jersey handed the hosts a penalty, but VAR then had a look and after about four minutes told the referee to go over to the screen.

Very frustrating as we could all see it was a penalty, and the referee agreed and stuck to his guns and awarded the penalty, all very unnecessary, but thankfully the correct outcome, and Schrijvers kept his nerve to convert the penalty several minutes later and hand Leuven the lead in this derby.

It was a very good high tempo contest, and a contest that seemed to be heading the way of the home side when seven minutes into the second half they doubled their lead, a ball in was flicked on by Ominami into the path of Ikwuemesi who flung himself at the ball and headed powerfully in off the crossbar, clattering into the post for his troubles, he was ok in the end and now Mechelen looked to have a difficult mountain to climb.

Well, they took a step up that mountain just past the hour mark when they saw Servais lash home into the roof of the net to reduce the arrears and get the game well and truly back on, the hosts then spurned a great chance to restore that two goal cushion when they got in but instead of squaring to two unmarked players, didn't, and the chance went, madness!!!

And that moment proved important as with eleven minutes remaining Mechelen levelled the contest up when a ball across goal by Boersma was converted by Van Rafelghem, and heading into the final ten minutes it looked like Mechelen could go on and win it after looking down and out at 2-0 behind.

A frantic end ensued but ultimately neither side could win it, meaning this pulsating derby game would end all square, and great way to end the weekend although it could be important points dropped by the hosts after being in such a strong position in this game, fair play to Mechelen who come back to grab something, a truly enjoyable watch for sure!!!

Full time OH Leuven 2 KV Mechelen 2

Right, let's see how the Belgian Jupiler Pro League looks after all the games this weekend:-

Union Saint-Gillose, the current champions, netted a 1-0 home win over Club Brugge to open up a four point lead at the top, taking advantage of Sint-Truiden slipping up at home to Sporting Charleroi.  the other two games not mentioned saw Antwerp thrashed struggling Cercle Brugge 4-0 and bottom side Dender losing 2-1 at home to Genk.

La Louviere point on Friday night sees them two points from getting out of the bottom four, Gent's point sees them remain in the top six but only on goal difference, Zulte Waregem's narrow home defeat sees them just above the bottom four, Westerlo now put four points between themselves and the bottom four courtesy of that win in Waregem.

Standard de Liege's win in the Belgian classic sees them now just three points off the top six and six points off Anderlecht, the side who lost that game, still in fourth but only three points ahead of two sides below them, one of those being Mechelen, who dropped out of the top six after this weekend although they did battle back to earn what could be an important point against Leuven who stay third bottom and four points behind 12th placed Zulte Waregem. Those two points lost could really come back to haunt them!!!

Anyway, that completes my blog on this weekend in Belgium, it's been a fantastic experience once again and I hope you enjoyed reading this and hopefully sharing these experiences through the blog, it really was a great weekend.