First half
"We must aim to finish as high as possible," said Koen Daerden, Technical Director of the Genk Talent Academy, before the start of the Youth League. The tone was set, but just three minutes in, it was clear that European competition is no walk in the park. With a swift counterattack, Panayotov immediately put the visitors ahead. However, our boys remained composed. The U19s showed great teamwork. Nuozzi, who has 48 appearances for Jong Genk, took charge of the team. A first threat came through a corner after a fingertip save from Gerginov. Soon after, Rabhi beat his opponent on the right wing with a brilliant dribble and crossed to Mbavu, whose header hit the outside of the post. Our boys were clearly the more technically gifted team, and half an hour in, the deserved equalizer came. Through a slick combination involving De Wannemacker, Nuozzi, and finally Touré, the Bulgarian defense was broken down. The solid visitors were forced to retreat and relied on a few counterattacks. Just before halftime, Nikolov tested Brughmans twice, but the keeper comfortably stopped both efforts, keeping the score 1-1 at the break.
Second half
The same pattern continued in the second half, with the first danger again coming from Nuozzi, whose shot went over. The Bulgarian defenders threw their bodies on the line to stop Genk’s pressure. Ivanov brought down Wamu—no small player himself—on a corner. After receiving a yellow card for the foul, the young Bulgarian also picked up a second for protesting. Reduced to 10 men, the visitors presented Nuozzi with the perfect chance to crown his strong performance with a goal from the penalty spot. But the goalkeeper and the post denied him. Shortly after, Nuozzi pulled up with a hamstring injury and had to be substituted. The substitute Decresson was initially denied a go-ahead goal, but moments later, another substitute, Camara, followed up a cross from fellow substitute Murenzi to give Genk the well-deserved lead. Meanwhile, the visitors were reduced to nine players after Petrov received two silly yellow cards within minutes. The Bulgarians were overwhelmed, and another reckless challenge in the box led to a second penalty. This time, Decresson smashed the ball into the net to seal the 3-1 victory. On November 6, we’ll defend our two-goal lead at Bulgaria's national stadium.
Line-up Brughmans, Tran, Mbavu, Cauwel, Barry, Bouazzaoui, Rabhi ('68 Camara), Wamu ('82 Driessen), Touré ('68 Decresson), De Wannemacker ('82 Reumers), Nuozzi ('75 Murenzi).
Goals
