After their surprising win against AA Gent, STVV had a very poor game against RSC Anderlecht and ended up losing 3-1. The visitors set up in a 4-3-3 and didn’t really create anything in possession. Defensively STVV struggled as well as they didn’t look very organised. Anderlecht’s left back Mykhaylichenko really showed up this vulnerability with his goal in the first half. The Ukranian defender had all the space in the world to dribble and punished STVV with a good shot into the right corner.
At the start of the second half right back Sankhon didn’t help STVV as he received a red card after a dirty tackle on Jérémy Doku. From the free kick that followed Anderlecht’s striker Dimata was left completely unmarked and he managed to score to make it 2-0. STVV looked to come back in the game after a late goal form Balongo, but a nice chip from Percy Tau ended the game at 3-1. Overall this was a very poor performance by the whole STVV side, making it hard for an individual player to stand out.
Ratings:
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, re-watch
- D – Below average in this match
Ko Matsubara
Player profile:
- Nationality: Japanese
- Age: 23
- Date of birth: 30/08/1996
- Current club: STVV
- Career: Shimizu S-Pulse, STVV
- Position: Left Back
- Preferred foot: Left
Ko Matsubara played as the left back in STVV’s 4-3-3 and just like every other STVV player he struggled quite a bit against RSC Anderlecht. Defensively Matsubara did alright, but he seemed to struggle in build-up.
Matsubara’s struggle in build-up wasn’t only because of him. Anderlecht pressed quite high and left sided midfielder Colombatto wasn’t available to receive the ball often. Colombatto would be marked or move to the sideline, giving Matsubara one less option to give the ball to. The Japanese defender didn’t really have space to dribble either and also didn’t seem to have a very good passing range. He tried a couple of long passes to Nakamura on the left, but they weren’t accurate
STVV themselves tried to put Anderlecht under pressure a few times at the start of the game. In the first ten minutes of the game Matsubara intercepted a pass deep in the opposition half, which created a good chance for Nakamura who shot the ball wide. Matsubara showed good character and gave everything for the full 90 minutes, which resulted in a late assist. After making a good run in the 88th minute Matsubara got the ball on the left and played a good pass to Balongo, who scored to make it 2-1.
Defensively it was a good game from Matsubara. At times it looked like he stood a little narrow when Anderlecht had the ball on the left, giving right winger Ait El-Hadj a lot of space, but otherwise there would’ve been a big gap in the middle of STVV’s defense. Matsubara did very well in his 1v1’s defending quite aggressive and coming out on top almost every time. He read the game well and intercepted six passes against Anderlecht.
Rating: B2
Matsubara was a little poor in possession, but that wasn’t all his fault. All in all he is a decent full back who could do very well in the Jupiler Pro League.
Samy Mmaee
Player profile:
- Nationality: Belgian
- Age: 23
- Date of birth: 08/09/1996
- Current club: STVV
- Career: AA Gent (Y), Standard, MVV (L), STVV
- Position: Centre Back
- Secondary position: Right Back / Left Back
- Preferred foot: Right
Samy Mmaee started out as the left sided centre back for STVV and played at right back for the last 30 minutes in the second half. Mmaee looks like quite a phyiscal centre back standing at 6’1”, but had issues with Anderlecht’s striker Dimata. Mmaee only won one defensive duel and needed to commit quite a few fouls to be able to stop the strong Belgian striker. He also let Dimata out of his sight a couple of times, which gave the striker a lot of space in the box. Samy Mmaee performed decently in aerial duels, but then seemed to struggle with clearing high balls.
The centre back was alright on the ball and was pretty composed. He seemed to make a few mistakes in his short passing, which looked like he lacked concentration at times. His long passes were quite inconsistent, but he stayed confident throughout the game to play long balls.
Technically I also have my doubts about Mmaee. He never tried to dribble into the midfield when he had possession, but the times he had to dribble it looked a bit clumsy and his touches were quite heavy.
Rating: C
Mmaee played against one of the better strikers of the Jupiler Pro League and struggled. Re-watch is needed as he could be a good player in the league still.
Chris Durkin
Player profile:
- Nationality: American
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 08/02/2000
- Current club: STVV
- Career: Richmond Kicker, D.C. United, STVV
- Position: Defensive Midfield
- Secondary position: Centre Back / Centre Midfield
- Preferred foot: Right
Chris Durkin played as a central midfielder, right winger and even as right back in this game. The young American wasn’t really involved too much and struggled quite a bit despite the low tempo. Durkin started in midfield and played slightly in front of de Ridder and Colombatto. He wasn’t really involved too much and when he was on the ball his passing was quite sloppy.
Durkin didn’t get a lot of space in midfield against Anderlecht and he had a hard time dealing with it. He did well protecting the ball sometimes, but didn’t offer any creativity in the final third for his side. There was one moment in the first half where Durkin made a good run on the right side, but when he got the ball in the box his cross was very poor.
I don’t really understand why Durkin was used quite high up the pitch, as he offered more defensively than de Ridder or Colombatto. The 20-year old won a lot of duels, intercepted a couple of passes and did pretty well in aerial duels, even though his timing seemed a bit off at times. He struggled with the quick Jérémy Doku on the left, but worked hard in his duels.
Rating: C
Durkin struggled in the small spaces that Anderlecht offered, but I think he could be an alright defensive midfielder or right back in the Belgian league.
Facundo Colidio
Player profile:
- Nationality: Argentine / Italian
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 04/01/2000
- Current club: STVV (On loan from Inter)
- Career: Boca Juniors (Y), Inter, STVV (L)
- Position: Striker
- Secondary position: Right Wing / Left Wing
- Preferred foot: Right
Facundo Colidio was quite invisible for most of this game against Anderlecht, but showed some glimpses of promise when he had the ball. Colidio played on the right side, and later moved to the left. Colidio is quite a small attacker standing at 5’9” and struggled against the physically strong Anderlecht players, not winning a lot of duels throughout this match.
Colidio was confident in his dribbling and showed good technique, despite not having a lot of successful dribbles this game and taking on too many opponents sometimes. He has a good first touch, but seemed ot struggle controlling high balls. Colidio played a couple of smart passes and tried some short combinations, but also with little success.
Rating: D
Colidio was below average for STVV against Anderlecht. Being only 20 years old I still think he has some potential and a poor team performance harmed his individual performance.
Keito Nakamura
Player profile:
- Nationality: Japanese
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 28/07/2000
- Current club: STVV (On loan from Gamba Osaka)
- Career: Mitsubishi Yowa (Y), Gamba Osaka, FC Twente (L), STVV (L)
- Position: Left Wing
- Secondary position: Right Wing / Striker
- Preferred foot: Right
Keito Nakamura played on the left for STVV and got subbed off after 55 minutes and failing to have much of an impact in this game. The Japanese winger worked very hard pressing and also tracking back to defend, but also had a difficult game. Nakamura only received 5 passes in 55 minutes, which pretty much showed how little impact he had.
Nakamura had one chance this game, but his shot from outside the box lacked direction and went wide. On the ball there were little options for the young winger and as a result most of the time he could only play the ball back. Nakamura has good technical skills, but got pushed of the ball a little too easy. When STVV finally had possession in Anderlecht’s half, Nakamura was too static and he wasn’t often in a position to receive the ball.
Rating: D
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