Lommel SK and RFC Seraing didn’t hold back in their first match of this season in the D1B Pro League. The hosts were 2-1 up by halftime and looked to be fully in control, but it all went wrong for them in the second half. RFC Seraing player Georges Mikautadze quickly scored two goals and completed his hattrick and even scored a fourth goal for the away side. Lommel pulled one back, but after another goal from RFC Seraing the game ended 3-5. It has to be said that Lommel were pretty unlucky with some of the decisions from the referee. They conceded a penalty, which should’ve been a free kick, and also should’ve gotten one or two penalties themselves.
Liam Manning’s Lommel SK set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with Sebastiaan Brebels as a defensive midfielder, and played a very high defensive line with a lot of pressing, especially in the first half. A lot of creativity came from their wingers, with three central midfielders who were roaming around a lot creating danger in the box. Both full backs were found quite high up the pitch, but didn’t create a lot for Lommel.
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
Arno Verschueren
Player profile:
- Nationality: Belgian
- Age: 23
- Date of birth: 08/04/1997
- Current club: Lommel SK
- Career: KVC Westerlo, NAC Breda, Lommel SK
- Position: Defensive Midfield
- Secondary position: Centre Back / Right Back / Centre Midfield
- Preferred foot: Right
Especially in the first half of the match Arno Verschueren was absolutely everywhere on the pitch. The right sided central midfielder was dangerous in the final third in possession, but was covering as left back a little later. Verschueren covered an enormous amount of ground, but seemed a little tired in the final few minutes. Saying as this was his first competitive game of the season this is not surprising though.
Verschueren had a big impact with his ball-winning abilities. He recovered nine balls in Seraing’s half and did very well cutting off passing-lanes and intercepting many passes. He could’ve done better in his 1v1 duels though. He is quite tall, standing at 6’1”, but doesn’t strike me as a very strong player. This, combined with a lack of aggression in duels, made him lose some 1v1’s he shouldn’t have lost.
Pushing far up the pitch, Verschueren also had his moments in the final third. He put in a couple of dangerous crosses from the right and also had a couple of chances from inside the box. Verschueren did quite well with the ball at his feet. He was very composed when being pressed and did well in the small pockets of space. His passing seemed quite good as well, he played some nice long balls and his short passes were also good. The second goal from RFC Seraing was partly Verschueren’s fault. After a failed header in his own half it was Mikautadze who was alert and scored after one of his teammates hit the post.
Rating: A1
It wasn’t a flawless game from Verschueren, but it is clear that he has the abilities to play in the Jupiler Pro League or the Dutch Eredivisie.
Juan Bautista Cejas
Player profile:
- Nationality: Argentine
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 06/03/1998
- Current club: Lommel SK (on loan from Montevideo City)
- Career: Estudiantes, Montevideo City, Quilmes (L), Lommel SK (L)
- Position: Right Wing
- Secondary position: Left Wing / Striker
- Preferred foot: Right
With a goal and an assist it was quite the debut for Juan Bautista Cejas for Lommel SK. Just a couple of seconds after Thórdarson almost scored with a header after a good cross from Cejas, the Argentine scored the second goal for Lommel. After a good dribble and a nice combination with Cejas, Thórdarson and Klizan, Cejas slotted the ball into the bottom left corner. His assist for the 3-3 was just pure luck. After a bad first touch in a counter attack the ball deflected off Cejas and landed in front of Zaroury who scored.
Cejas showed his quick feet multiple times on the right, but was also quite sloppy at times. He only completed five out of his ten attempted dribbles, mostly because he tried to take on too many opponents or he just got pushed off the ball. Despite this, Cejas seemed determined and didn’t lose confidence in his abilities.
The winger was still dangerous in the final third. His dribbles weren’t always successful, but his dribbling was very good. He had great ball control and was comfortable using either foot. He put in some good crosses with his left and right foot and almost always looked to play the ball forward. Cejas’ shooting also looked decent, besides his first goal he also showed good shooting with his left foot.
Defensively Cejas probably has to improve a bit though. He always tracked back nicely, but his positioning and strength are some weaknesses in his game. When Lommel tried to press I often spotted Cejas giving a lot of space to his direct opponent.
Rating: A2
Kolbeinn Thórdarson
Player profile:
- Nationality: Icelandic
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 12/03/2000
- Current club: Lommel SK
- Career: Breidablik, Lommel SK
- Position: Attacking Midfield
- Secondary position: Striker / Centre Midfield / Right Wing
- Preferred foot: Right
The 20-year old Kolbeinn Thórdarson played next to Arno Verschueren in Lommel’s midfield and showed some glimpses of class throughout the game. Thórdarson was not as involved as Verschueren, who was everywhere on the pitch, but also had his moments. The Icelandic midfielder recovered five balls in Seraing’s half and won almost all of his defensive duels. He may be only 5’9”, but did very well in his duels and worked very hard when Lommel were pressing.
Thórdarson assisted the first goal for Lommel SK. After a corner got headed away he played a smart ball with his back to the goal to Neven who was still in the box, showcasing some great spatial awareness. Throughout the game Thórdarson’s passing was good. He didn’t attempt a lot of long passes and mostly just played it short. He played quite a few forward passes and wasn’t afraid to carry the ball forward either. Thórdarson has quite good dribbling and is strong on the ball.
What probably stood out to me most from Thórdarson against RFC Seraing was his shooting. He got two shots off after cutting inside from the left, both had a lot of power and curve behind them and went just over the bar.
Rating: A2
Thórdarson was a very useful player for Lommel SK in this game and could probably do a good job for some clubs in the Belgian Jupiler Pro League.
Anass Zaroury
Player profile:
- Nationality: Belgian
- Age: 19
- Date of birth: 07/11/2000
- Current club: Lommel SK
- Career: Zulte-Waregem (Y), Lommel SK
- Position: Left Wing
- Secondary position: Right Wing
- Preferred foot: Right
Anass Zaroury played 70 minutes as the left winger for Lommel SK and scored the equaliser to make it 3-3 in this game. As after a good counter attack Zaroury slotted the ball into an empty net.
The rest of the game the 19-year old didn’t play that well. Zaroury has a good first touch and wasn’t scared to take on his opponent. He was quite unpredictable and could cut inside or beat his man and go for the cross with his left foot, but his end product really lacked quality. His crosses were often too short and his shooting wasn’t that convincing.
The winger worked very hard offensively and defensively, but clearly lacked some strength as he lost over half of his duels. His short passing was also too inconsistent and sloppy, which lost his team possession multiple times.
Rating: B2
Zaroury has some raw talent, but probably needs to improve in certain areas of this game to be a first team player.
Jordan Attah Kadiri
Player profile:
- Nationality: Nigerian
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 11/03/2000
- Current club: Lommel SK
- Career: Nasarawa United, Östersunds FK, Lommel SK
- Position: Striker
- Preferred foot: Right
Jordan Attah Kadiri only played around 25 minutes against RFC Seraing, but showed me he could be a real asset for his team. I watched him a few weeks ago for his old club, Östersunds FK, and he showed me the same qualities against Seraing.
Kadiri is very strong on the ball and could be a great target man for Lommel. He has a great first touch and is very composed on the ball. His passing was still a little inconsistent and is probably still one of his weaknesses.
Rating: A1
Obviously I can’t properly rate him on these 20 minutes, but from what I saw in this game and in other games, Kadiri could easily play at the highest level in Belgium. Club Brugge were interested in the Nigerian striker and I think he could’ve been a good asset for them.