Lockeren-Temse edged past Eupen 2:1 in the second round of the Challenger Pro League on Friday evening, a result that keeps the hosts fifth and moves the visitors further back in ninth.
M. Lloci gave the home side the lead in the forty-second minute, a neat finish that came after Eupen had settled into their rhythm. The visitors responded well enough to level through R. Van den Bergh just after the break, but S. Vidigal put the game to bed early with a seventeenth-minute goal that felt like it changed the shape of things.
There were plenty of bookings along the way — three for each side — but the real turning point came late on. L. Delaurier-Chaubet saw red in the eighty-eighth minute after picking up his second yellow, and by then Eupen were scrambling for an equaliser with nothing left to give.
Lockeren-Temse had 51 per cent of the possession and managed seven shots on target, though Eupen pressed harder with ninety-three attacks against seventy-five. The visitors hit the woodwork more often, but their accuracy of twenty-five per cent on shots left them with only four on target. That price has gone, and the hosts saw it out.
The win moves Lockeren-Temse to six points from three games, while Eupen remain on three after two outings. The gap between them in the table has widened, and for now the hosts have one foot in the next round of their own ambitions.