KVC Westerlo got three deserved points against KMSK Deinze in their tenth match of the season. Westerlo dominated possession and barely conceded any chances. After 45 minutes they comfortably led with 2-0 and in the second half Atabey Cicek sealed the victory with a third goal for the hosts.
Bob Peeters’ Westerlo played quite a unique formation which kind of looked like a 4-1-3-1-1. Kader Keita played as the most defensive with Lukas van Eenoo just in front of him and Kurt Abrahams Tuur Dierckx playing providing some width. Up front Igor Vetokele played around Atabey Cicek who held up a lot of long balls. In possession both fullbacks would often move forward quite a bit, with Keita or sometimes van Eenoo dropping back as a third centre back. The hosts played really patient in possession and Deinze had a hard time defending all the moving players.
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, rewatch
- D – Below average in this match
Kouya Mabea
Player profile:
- Nationality: Ivorian
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 23/10/1998
- Current club: KVC Westerlo
- Career: Société Omnisports de l’Armée (Y), Vitória Guimarães B, KVC Westerlo
- Position: Left Back
- Preferred foot: Left
Kouya Mabea played as the left back for KVC Westerlo and had a very solid match. Mabea did very well defensively, but also constantly created danger going forward. The left back stands at 5’9” and isn’t very strong in the air, but has an athletic build and showed that he has a lot of strength. Mabea also showed some incredible bursts of pace on and off the ball. The left back came forward a lot, especially in the second half, and caused a lot of problems for KMSK Deinze with Kurt Abrahams playing quite narrow as a left winger.
On the ball Mabea did very well. His short passes were very good overall, but his long balls seemed to lack a little bit of direction and accuracy. This was not a very problem however as Westerlo mostly played it slowly from the back, looking for short combinations and playing forward that way. In the final third he put in a couple of great crosses and he was very unlucky to not get an assist this game. In the 48th minute he put in a great cross towards the far post, but striker Cicek just couldn’t get to the ball. Mabea wasn’t scared to carry the ball forward and seemed to have quite good technique and made some very athletic first touches. He beat his opponents quite easily around the outside and made three successful progressive runs this game.
Defensively it wasn’t a very busy game for the Mabea. The left back only had a couple of situations where he had to do defensive work, but when he had to step up he did very well. Mabea put a lot of intensity in his duels and didn’t get beat once this game. He also seemed to read the game quite well and made some good interceptions on Deinze’s half.
Rating – A1
It is hard to judge him defensively, but if I look at Mabea’s technique and what he brings offensively I would say that he could easily be of use for teams in the Jupiler Pro League.
Kader Keita
Player profile:
- Nationality: French
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 06/11/2000
- Current club: KVC Westerlo
- Career: LOSC Lille (Y), KVC Westerlo
- Position: Centre Midfield
- Secondary position: Defensive Midfield
- Preferred foot: Right
Kader Keita played as the defensive midfielder in Bob Peeters’ side and did a solid job. Keita saw a lot of the ball in build-up receiving 58 passes this game, which is a crazy amount compared to the 29 passes he normally receives per 90 minutes. When he received a pass he mostly just played very safe keeping the ball in possession for his team. His short passing seemed really solid this game and he barely made any mistakes with them. He tried a couple of riskier longer passes in the final third in the end of the match, but these looked really poor. Keita was almost always available to receive the ball and looked really resistant to the pressure Deinze sometimes tried to put on him. The 20-year old easily turned with the ball and used his body well to keep his opponents away.
Defensively it was also quite an easy game for Keita. He barely had any defensive duels on his own half, and looked alright in the few duels he had. Keita did very well recovering loose balls and cutting off passing lanes however. He recovered over 20 balls this game for his team, with six of those being on the half of his opponent. Keita stands at 5’10” and certainly isn’t the tallest player, but still showed an impressive jumping reach.
There were times in the game where Keita looked like he lost his concentration for a moment or was just a bit nonchalant. He lost the ball a few times a bit too easy and was a little static off the ball a couple of times.
Rating – A2
Keita also didn’t have to do many defensive work, but did very well in possession for his team. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in the highest division in Belgium next year.
Berke Özer
Player profile:
- Nationality: Turkish
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 25/05/2000
- Current club: KVC Westerlo (On loan from Fenerbahce)
- Career: Altinordu FK, Fenerbahce, KVC Westerlo (L)
- Position: Goalkeeper
- Preferred foot: Right
Berke Özer was already loaned to KVC Westerlo by Fenerbahce last year and is their first-choice goalkeeper this year again. The ‘Turkish Donnarumma’ as he already has been labeled kept his fifth clean sheet in his tenth game of the season, but didn’t have to do to much work against KMSK Deinze.
His best save came in the 92nd minute when De Belder tried to curl the ball in the far corner from just outside the box. Özer had to stretch his whole body and managed to save the ball. The rest of the game was quite uneventful for Özer. The 6’3” tall goalkeeper did very well in the air collecting some crosses easily. He also handled the other easier shots that he had to save very well not letting go of the ball once. Özer was trying to help his team in build-up when necessary and seemed quite comfortable on the ball. He played a lot of long balls towards Cicek, which all seemed very good. Özer seemed very focused throughout the whole game, communicating with his team very well and coming out of his box when KMSK Deinze tried to play balls in behind Westerlo’s defense.
Rating – A2
This may not have been the best match to judge Özer on, but when he had to do something, he did it very well. He seems to have everything a good goalkeeper needs.
Kurt Abrahams
Player profile:
- Nationality: South-African
- Age: 23
- Date of birth: 30/12/1996
- Current club: KVC Westerlo
- Career: STVV, KVC Westerlo
- Position: Right Wing
- Secondary position: Attacking Midfield, Striker, Left Wing
- Preferred foot: Right
Kurt Abrahams played on the left wing for Westerlo, but didn’t play like a classic left winger. The South-African often dropped back very deep to collect the ball and roamed to the center very often, making space for Mabea on the left. Abrahams had a big impact on the game, assisting the 3-0 and doing great work before the 2-0. In the 37th minute he put in a great cross with his right foot which Cicek head towards Vetokele, who then scored the second goal of the game. In the second half Abrahams got the ball in the box and held off his opponent very well. He then played a simple pass back to Cicek who scored a lovely goal.
Overall it was a great game by Abrahams, who worked very hard offensively and defensively. The winger showed decent technique and was very calm on the ball. He attempted a lot of dribbles and often took on his opponents with success, cutting inside towards his preferred right foot. He tried a couple of shots from outside the box, but they all seemed to miss a little bit of power and accuracy. With the ball at his feet Abrahams did very well looking for short combinations with his teammates, trying to play a high tempo on Deinze’s half. His short passes were very good overall, but he made a couple of sloppy errors.
Rating – B1
Kurt Abrahams played a good match and I think he is a great player for this level. I’m not too sure if he can be an important player in the Jupiler Pro League though. He seemed quite predictable and I have my doubts about the physical side of his game.
Matias Lloci
Player profile:
- Nationality: Belgian
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 22/04/2000
- Current club: KVC Westerlo
- Career: KAA Gent (Y), KVC Westerlo
- Position: Right Back
- Secondary position: Centre Midfield, Centre Back
- Preferred foot: Both
Matias Lloci started for the first time for KVC Westerlo and played as their right back. It seemed like he was really nervous the first part of the game as he barely went forward and always chose for the easiest option when he had the ball. Later on in the game he seemed more confident going forward and trying to take on his opponent.
Lloci seemed comfortable using both feet playing some great diagonal cross passes with his left foot and putting in crosses with his right foot. When he got forward and tried to take on his opponent he was very unpredictable, being able to pass him around the outside or cut inside. Unfortunately he didn’t get the ball in the advanced areas too much and almost all of his crosses got blocked. He seemed to be quite calm on the ball and have decent ball control and dribbling. Defensively Lloci also had a quiet day at the office. The Belgian defender did well in the few duels he had and also intercepted a couple of passes.
Rating – B1
Lloci did alright starting for the first time, but it’s hard to properly rate him. He looks like a good player on this level, but I will re-watch him in the future.