Brussels, (Brussels Morning)- Anderlecht drew 2-2 against Oud-Heverlee Leuven on Sunday afternoon on the seventh match day in the highest football class. In the standings, Purple & White doesn’t make much headway with the point after a 1 out of 9.
At Anderlecht, top acquisition Jan Vertonghen started on the bench. Amadou Diawara, another newcomer, was given a starting spot by Felice Mazzu. Verschaeren, Amuzu, Arnstad and Stroeykens were missing due to a stomach virus.
OHL took the lead in the sun-drenched Lotto Park after nineteen minutes via Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson. The Icelander controlled a far ball with his chest and floored Van Crombrugge with a nice volley in the turn. A flattered position for the visitors as Anderlecht had a number of opportunities in the opening phase, but lacked efficiency in front of goal.
After the Leuven goal, the pace dropped and Anderlecht barely managed to create any chances against a well-organised OHL. Marc Brys’ team was allowed to go into halftime with a lead.
After the break, Anderlecht went looking for the equaliser. Mazzu counted on record international Vertonghen, who replaced Hannes Delcroix in the 55th minute and made his first appearance in the shirt of the Brussels team.
Ten minutes later, Mazzu also threw the sixteen-year-old debutant Julian Duranville into the fight, who thanked his coach with a great goal. He made it 1-1 with a nice ball. However, the home fans could not cheer for long, because barely three minutes later, in the 74th minute, Musa Tamari scored a second goal from Leuven. He finished in a controlled manner after Diawara bumbling.
Anderlecht, however, did not give up and five minutes before the whistle, Fabio Silva signed for the 2-2 draw with his fourth league goal. Anderlecht is left behind with a poor 1 out of 9. In the standings, the record champion is currently joint sixth with 10 points, OHL is fourth with 13 points.
Later in the day, three more matches are scheduled in 1A: Antwerp/Westerlo (4pm), Charleroi/Ghent (6:30pm) and Zulte Waregem/Union (9pm).
