T&T defender Sheldon Bateau scored a second-half item as KV Mechelen came from 2-0 down at halftime to draw 2-2 with KV Oostende in round five of Belgium Pro League Europa League play-offs on Wednesday.
Going into their penultimate match in the four-club two rounds qualifiers, KV Mechelen led the table but found itself trailing 0-2 at the half via double strike for KV Oostende from Zambian Fashion Sakala, in the fifth and 20th minutes at the Ghelamco Arena.
Two minutes into the second half, KV Mechelen pulled a goal back through Ferdy Druij off a feed from Sandy Walsh before drew the visitors level in the 63rd minute thanks to an assist from Rob Schoofs.
However, with nine minutes left, KV Mechelen was reduced to ten men when Aster Vranckx was issued a second yellow card after being early on in the 40th.
In the end, KV Mechelen held on to take away a vital point in their push to qualify for Europe.
With one match left to play to complete their second match schedule, KV Mechelen leads the table with 35 points, three ahead of Gent who was due to face cellar-placed Standard Liege (28 points), in a late match on Wednesday while Oostende has 31 points.
On Saturday in the final round, KV Mechelen comes up against Gent while Oostende plays Standard Liege.
Also yesterday, defender Keston Julien featured for the first 45 minutes in FC Sheriff Tiraspol’s 3-0 spanking of FC Floresti in the Moldovan National Division.
The 22-year-old Julien who won the league title with his team last weekend, the 19th in club history was replaced at the interval by Alexandr Belousov with the score at 0-0 before second-half goals from Dimitris Kolovos in the 73rd, and a brace by Frank Castaneda, in the 75th and 73rd secured the win.
The victory lifted Sheriff to 95 points from 34 matches, ten ahead of Petrocub who have played a match more.
The Gasparillo-born Julien has one goal on the season for FC Sheriff following his free transfer to the club from Slovakia where he was a member of their first team for four seasons, after leaving T&T Pro League outfit, San Juan Jabloteh at the end of the 2016/2017 season.
A former Presentation College player, Julien will be hoping for another chance to add to his goals tally when Sheriff faces Petrocub in a top-of-the-table clash before ending their campaign against Dacia-Bulucani on May 26.
FC Sheriff will then go in search of a League and Cup double when they tackle Sfintul Gheorghe on Sunday, May 29 in the Cup final at the Zimbru Stadium, Chisinau, Moldova.
This after Sheriff whipped Petrocub 3-1 in their semifinals on Tuesday, May 4 and Sfintul Gheorge edged Dinamo-Auto 2-1.
On the international scene, Julien will also be anticipating a call-up to national coach Terry Fenwick’s squad for the upcoming important Concacaf Group F 2022 Qatar World Cup qualifiers versus the Bahamas on June 5, and St Kitts/Nevis, three days later.
St Kitts/Nevis currently leads the five-team round-robin pool with six points, two ahead of T&T.
