Antwerp vs Leuven

Royal Antwerp made light work of a chaotic afternoon to beat Oud-Heverlee Leuven 2-0 on Saturday, with the visitors self-destructing spectacularly and finishing the game with just nine men. Oscar Gil set the tone when he picked up a second yellow card in the 28th minute, leaving Leuven a man down before the half-hour. Xander Dierckx punished that numerical advantage six minutes into the second half, converting an assist from Daam Foulon to open the scoring. Birgir Verstraete then handed his team another problem, collecting a second yellow in the 73rd minute to reduce Leuven to nine. Substitute Youssef Hamdaoui sealed it in stoppage time. The result gives Antwerp a timely lift in the Europe Play-offs, where both sides are scrapping for a European qualification berth. For Leuven, two red cards and no goals make for a damaging afternoon they will want to forget quickly.