Hugo Vetlesen: "We needed fire and energy"
Hugo Vetlesen came on for Diakhon at halftime and his entry came with a tremendous amount of energy.
"We needed fire and energy, and we showed it. In my second action, that goal came immediately, which gave us a huge boost. This is another step closer to our goal, and that feels great for the team."
The grinta and commitment the Norwegian brought to the game was instrumental. "Sometimes we are still a bit too friendly, which goes to show in the first half. There could be a little more grit and sharpness in there. Today we brought that better in the second half, and that is also an important reason why we win this game."
The number 10 was awarded the trophy of man of the match. He is not a regular on the team. "As for my situation, I have been working very hard for a long while now, and I feel that I am in fine fettle, so I hope I can continue along these lines and get the chance to play our next big match against Union."
Nordin Jackers: "This one does a lot of good"
With Mignolet out injured, Nordin Jackers returned to the starting lineup and also played his part in Club's revival. "It does a world of good. Our first half was difficult, but at halftime we put our heads together and started again with a fresh mindset."
Both for the team and individually, this win is hugely important. "As a player you always have to be able to react after a period of woe, and we did that well today. Sint-Truiden is a strong outfit, but we were able to hold them off well and played efficiently in order to draw the game to us."
Jackers impressed with a couple of clever saves. He himself remains level-headed about this: "Personally, I try to take every chance I get. You know there will be times like these in football, and then you just have to show you're ready."
Ivan Leko: "Big Win"
A difficult first half at Stayen for Club, standing up in a boisterous second half and eventually winning 1-2. Coach Leko was especially pleased with his team's reaction.
"This is really a Big Win," the Club coach started out. "It's not easy to win against STVV, and certainly not after how the match started. The first quarter of an hour I thought we were dominant, including a great chance for Tresoldi. Then we allowed ourselves to be lulled to sleep a bit and didn't follow the game plan anymore. They scored 1-0 and shortly afterwards two of our key players (Sabbe and Forbs) were injured. At that point everything was against us and we lost our grip on the game. We couldn't get the ball in the final third and at halftime something had to change. It wasn't planned to make that change (Diakhon for Vetlesen), but it was necessary to try to throw everything we had at it to still win this match. In the second half we showed a lot of character, with good group pressing and more courage. If you are brave, you can also force luck. It may not have been the prettiest of wins, but I like this kind of victory."
"It wasn't our most attractive game today, but it showed a lot of character and commitment. Everyone gave everything and there was also a good connection with the supporters. They kept supporting the team, even at the end when we were still struggling to hold on to the lead. That is not always easy, because we are normally a team that wants to dominate and attack. Today defense was also very important; in that we made some fine steps."
Club could also have lost this match. "We could indeed have lost, but I think we had the better chances and were better overall. In the end, this is a deserved victory. Football is a simple game at times: you can win without being top and lose if you are top. Today it was more balanced, but with the best chances for us."
Vetlesen helped provide the turnaround against STVV. "He was brave, but also angry. I like that in a player. When you're angry, the pitch is the right place to show you deserve a starting spot. Hugo has been here for several years and has always shown a top mentality. Unfortunately, you can only start with eleven, but as he presented himself today, this was certainly a strong application for the next matches," a satisfied Bruges coach concluded.