Lommel United put in a performance to remember as they dismantled Westerlo 4-0 in the Pro League Jupiler's third round of fixtures. The result, sealed on Sunday afternoon, lifted the hosts to eighth in the table with seven points from four games, while Westerlo remain rooted to sixteenth place with just one point.
And here's the thing — it wasn't a game that looked destined for this outcome on paper. Westerlo came in with 56 per cent possession and twice as many attacks as their opponents, yet found themselves trailing by three goals before the break. T. Reyners opened the scoring in the 30th minute, but it was L. Schoofs who turned the match into a rout, striking twice in the closing stages of the first half at the 45th and 45+4th minutes.
Westerlo's manager made three changes at the interval, bringing on L. Mbamba-Muanda, N. Bassette and S. Saito in a desperate attempt to change the momentum. The gesture didn't work. D. Konadu added a fourth goal in the 51st minute, and by then the visitors had nothing to do all evening. A VAR-disallowed penalty for Niek Corthouts in the 86th minute was the closest Westerlo came to getting back into the contest.
To be fair, the statistics tell the familiar story of wasted possession. Westerlo completed 524 passes compared to Lommel's 400, but created zero big chances while the hosts generated four. Shots accuracy told the real tale — Lommel hit 46 per cent of their targets with six on goal, while Westerlo managed just 24 per cent accuracy despite having more attempts overall.
By then, T. Reyners had added a second goal in the 89th minute, a late consolation that barely registered. Lommel came into the fixture having lost their opening game 1-0 to Charleroi but had shown resilience with a draw against St. Truiden. Westerlo, meanwhile, were on a run of three defeats from their last four outings.
The result leaves Lommel United well positioned for a mid-table finish, while Westerlo have a mountain to climb. Eight points separate them in the standings, and with three games played, the gap feels insurmountable for visitors who scored only one goal in their previous four matches combined.