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: KV Mechelen v Beerschot, season 2012-2013
A NICE AWAY WIN IN A TERRIBLE SEASON WITH GOALS FROM OJO AND… HERNAN LOSADA
The 2012-2013 season would turn out to be Beerschot AC’s swansong in the first division. After a disastrous campaign that ended in relegation the club also went bankrupt due to financial irregularities by chairman Patrick Vanoppen. What a tragedy! The season hadn’t started too bad though as early September Beerschot recorded a nice 2-0 victory away at KV Mechelen… with a certain Hernan Losada scoring the all important second goal.
Our defense impressed that night as Nyoni saved two shots on the goal line and the duo Öztürk-Mikulic seemed unbeatable. Funso Ojo headed in a cross from Mununga at the far post after 15 minutes for an early lead. Beerschot took control of the game and it was only after the break that KV Mechelen fought themselves back into the game. Without creating clear cut chances though. In the end it was Hernan Losada who doubled Beerschot’s advantage with an unstoppable shot from out of the box.
Three points in the bag for Beerschot who had beaten Charleroi 2-0 the week before and would also win the next two games, at home to Standard Liège (3-2) and KV Kortrijk (2-1). Four wins in a row. It was a period full of hope, but soon afterwards the bubble burst as the first financial problems surfaced. Players and personnel didn’t get paid anymore. In a couple of weeks’ time it all turned sour and chaotic. Both off and on the field.
SATURDAY 1 SEPTEMBER 2012, ARGOS STADIUM “ACHTER DE KAZERNE”
KV MECHELEN – BEERSCHOT 0 – 2
ATTENDANCE: 9.900
REFEREE: Geldhof
GOALS: 16’ Ojo 0-1, 90+1’ Losada 0-2
KV MECHELEN: Renard, Chen, Pandza (63’ Dialiba), De Witte, Van Loo (46’ Ghomsi), De Petter, Van Tricht (62’ Henkens), Destorme, Cordaro, Enevoldsen, Junker
BEERSCHOT: Stijnen, Öztürk, Brillant, Mikulic, Nyoni, De Decker, S. Wuytens (87’ Malul), Ojo, Mununga (90’ François), Losada, Coulibaly
YELLOW CARDS: Nyoni, Van Loo, Öztürk, Chen, De Witte, Mununga, Henkens, Stijnen
RED CARDS: none
Beerschot hit rock bottom early December 2012 when they were thrashed 1-7 at home by Club Brugge. It was the start of a dark period in which the team recorded 8 defeats, 2 draws and just one victory, on the final day of the regular season against Cercle Brugge. Beerschot and Cercle Brugge were ‘sentenced’ to compete in the Play Off 3-series, trying to avoid relegation. We won game number 1 but then lost three times on the trot and dropped into Division 2. Were it not that only a couple of weeks later Beerschot were declared bankrupt. Curtains! As it looked there was no future anymore for our club in the Olympic Stadium. Thé blackest day in Beerschot’s club history without a doubt.
But what we didn’t know at the time was that these tragic events eventually resulted in the resurrection as KFCO Beerschot Wilrijk. With a fresh start from amateur football in the Provincial League, seven wonderful years with five titles and promotions… and a glorious return to Division 1A.
During that infamous 2012-2013 season coaches Adrie Koster and – from November 29 – Jacky Mathijssen had no less than 41 players in their A-squad: Stijn Stijnen, Koen Van Langendonck, Stefan Deloose, Stefano Marzo, Dries Wuytens, Frédéric Brillant, Maxime Chanot, Giel Deferm, Maël Lépicier, Boldiszar Bodor, Raùl Bravo, Dor Malul, Jon Guoni Fjoluson, Tomislav Mikulic, Jaric Schaessens, Wim De Decker, Joachim Mununga, Joey Suk, Stijn Wuytens, Sam Van den Abeel, Hernan Losada, Ilias El Yazidi, Alpaslan Öztürk, Funso Ojo, Georgi Zjukov, Thibaut Van Acker, Goran Galesic, Vusumuzi Nyoni, Johanna Omolo, Uros Delic, Roni Porokara, Benito Raman, Kennedy Nwanganga, Roy Dayan, Marvin Ogunjimi, Wanderson, Dalibor Veselinovic, Kwame Franck Mawuena, Elimane Coulibaly, Conor Laerenbergh and Guillaume François.
By Danny Geerts
