1 – 4
“Bouke Boersma opens the scoring to give Mechelen an early advantage, setting the hosts up for what looked like a controlled afternoon.”
“Joedrick Pupe equalises just before the break to level at 1-1, denying Mechelen the psychological boost of a half-time lead and swinging momentum toward Sint-Truiden.”
Pivotal“Substitute Ryan Merlen scores within three minutes of coming on to make it 1-2 — a devastating early second-half blow that the hosts never recovered from.”
Pivotal“Ilias Sebaoui makes it 1-3 to effectively end Mechelen's hopes of a comeback, compounding the misery of a home side already on the back foot.”
Pivotal“Ryotaro Ito adds a fourth to complete a stunning turnaround, capping a 45-minute second-half performance of clinical, dominant football from Sint-Truiden.”
Mechelen
Sint-Truiden
Outstanding performance
Sint-Truiden•MidfielderMechelen took the lead through Bouke Boersma in the 26th minute and looked set to carry a narrow advantage into half-time, but Joedrick Pupe's equaliser on 44 minutes reset the contest entirely. What followed was a second-half collapse from the hosts that was as comprehensive as the statistics suggest — Sint-Truiden finished with 58% possession, 16 shots to Mechelen's eight, and a 10-2 advantage in shots on target. Ryan Merlen, introduced at the break, scored almost immediately after the restart to flip the scoreline, and Sint-Truiden never looked back as Ilias Sebaoui and Ryotaro Ito added further goals in a ruthless 20-minute spell. Mechelen's afternoon was summed up by their goalkeeping stats — five saves keeping the score remotely respectable — and the wave of triple substitutions they were forced into at the 73rd minute as the game slipped beyond reach. For Sint-Truiden, this is a statement result that underlines their quality and sheer momentum in the closing weeks of the season.
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