With Beerschot starting the 2020-2021 season in the First Division, we look back at our club’s history and turn the spotlight on a corresponding fixture from yesteryear… Today: Beerschot-KV Kortrijk 0-4, season 1990-1991
BEERSCHOT STARTS WITHOUT A GOALKEEPER… AND PATRICK GOOTS SCORES FOUR TIMES
The league match between Beerschot and KV Kortrijk from 30 years ago was an eye catcher. Not only because of the heavy 0-4 home defeat with our ex-player Patrick Goots scoring all four goals. No, it was the fact that Beerschot started the game with no goalkeeper that made it all remarkable. Let’s go back to 1991 for that and unravel the mystery…
Beerschot’s two goalies Peter Kerremans and Lee Verheyden were out injured that night so third ‘keeper Steve Buelens was called on to deputise. He had played with the reserve team the night before though and the Belgian FA rulings stipulated that a player was not allowed to play two full games in the same weekend. So coach Martti Kuusela decided to start with midfielder Frank Thijs in goal and to replace him as soon as possible. Beerschot hoped to win the toss but failed so the visitors kicked off and sent everybody up front in an attempt to score an early goal. However Peter Fieber fouled a Kortrijk player after 30 seconds to enable Beerschot to make the substitution. Less than a minute played and Thijs was taken off and the 19 year old Steve Buelens sent on for his most unusual debut in the first team.
Buelens didn’t enjoy his first game as Beerschot goalie at all. It turned out a real nightmare as KV Kortrijk ran riot and won handsomely with 4-0. Patrick Goots, who had left Beerschot at the end of the previous season, scored all four goals, while two other former Beerschot players – goalkeeper Pierre Drouguet and defender Peter Eikelboom – also starred for Kortrijk that night. A painful experience it was. That heavy defeat also condemned our club to Division 2.
The 1990-1991 season was a sh*tty campaign for Beerschot. It was the year financial difficulties started to mount and would eventually lead to bankruptcy, despite laudable efforts and investments by chairman Paul Nagels. It was also the year French businessman Guy Ivens was introduced as Beerschot’s saviour… but never showed the money he promised. And the year in which coach Aad Koudijzer was sacked and replaced by Finnish manager Martti Kuusela, who couldn’t stop the slope either. And on top of that the Belgian FA condemned Beerschot for bribery and fraudulent behavior… and sent our club to Division 3. On suspicion of. Without any proof. A despicable sentence!
SATURDAY 6 APRIL 1991 – OLYMPIC STADIUM
BEERSCHOT – KV KORTRIJK 0 – 4
ATTENDANCE: 3.000
REFEREE: Van Langenhove
GOALS: 18’ Goots 0-1, 38’ Goots 0-2, 57’ Goots 0-3, 80’ Goots 0-4
BEERSCHOT: Thijs (1’ Bulens), Talbut, Lodewijckx, De Ruyter, Camerman, Fieber, Lutonadio (58’ Luyckx), Makhi, Claessens, Audoor, Polley
KV KORTRIJK: Drouguet, Eikelboom, Decoulombier, Plessers, Augustine, Derouck, Debaveye, Janssen, Balenghien (80’ Timmerman), Goots (81’ Tilmant), Krüzen
By Danny Geerts
