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Percy Tau shines as Anderlecht hold Niangbo’s Gent
The South African was in action for the Purple and White as they picked up a point against the Buffalos in Sunday’s Belgian topflight showdown
Anderlecht went to the Ghelamco Arena, saw and played out a 1-1 draw with Sulayman Marreh and Anderson Niangbo’s Gent.
As predicted, the Belgian topflight encounter lived up to expectation as both teams cancelled out one another on Sunday evening.
In a tough first half, on loan Brighton and Hove Albion forward Percy Tau was cautioned in the 26th minute by referee Nicolas Laforge for a careless tackle.
Despite the yellow card, that did not reduce the South Africa international’s effectiveness as he was majestic in the visitors’ midfield.
Anderlecht took a well-deserved lead in the 44th minute courtesy of Michael Murillo who profited from Yari Verschaeren’s assist to fire past goalkeeper Sinan Bolat as they went into the half time break with a thin advantage.
Gent came out stronger in the second-half but were unsuccessful in their quest to break the water-tight backline of Vincent Kompany’s men.
However, they levelled matters in the 89th minute through Roman Yaremchuk who found space in the visitors’ goal area before heading home a cross from Iranian defender Milad Mohammadi.
After an impressive shift, Tau was replaced with ten minutes left to play by Josh Cullen while Sierra Leone's Mustapha Bundu and Nigeria's Paul Mukairu were unused substitutes.
For Gent, Gambia's Marreh was in action from start to finish whereas Cote d’Ivoire’s Niangbo was substituted for Dylan Mbayo in the 62nd minute. Cameroon's Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui, Congo DR's Jordan Botaka, Angola's Nuno Fortuna and Guinea's Ibrahima Cisse were not listed for action.
Despite the draw, Norwegian right-back Andreas Hanche-Olsen expressed his delight with the outcome against Kompany’s squad.
"It wasn't an easy match, but the point that we got out of the fire in the end is more than deserved,” Hanche-Olsen told Gent website.
“We kept fighting until the last minute and that paid off. After the loss in Belgrade, the focus was quickly on Anderlecht.
“We got a lot of injuries and absentees because of Covid-19, but we didn't hide behind those excuses.
“Our mentality was good, we fought for each other, even though the situation was not always good."
With this result, Genk stay fourth in the Jupiler League with 22 points from 12 games while Anderlecht are seventh having garnered 21 points from the same number of games.
