Belgium Sunday Card, 8 November: Leaders Léopold Host Herakles as Braxgata Chase With Gantoise Visit
Sunday 8 November is a full Belgian Hockey League card, and the top of the table gets tested from both ends.
Leaders Léopold host Herakles. Léopold sit top on 20 points from eight games, unbeaten with six wins and two draws, and they already beat Herakles’ neighbours in the table race by simply refusing to lose. Herakles are fifth on 13 points, and a win in Uccle would drag them right into the playoff pack. A Léopold win, though, keeps the leaders a point clear at least, and keeps their unbeaten run alive.
The chasing game is just as good. Second-placed Braxgata, one point behind on 19, welcome fourth-placed Gantoise. Gantoise have 14 points and the league’s joint-best attack on paper, so this is no routine home win for Braxgata. If Braxgata win and Léopold slip, the lead changes hands. If Gantoise win, the top four concertinas again.
Elsewhere, champions Waterloo Ducks travel to Orée, and the Ducks need the points after their shock home defeat to bottom side Namur last weekend. Orée are the draw specialists of the league with five draws from eight, sitting eighth on eight points, so the Ducks can’t expect a stroll. Namur, lifted by that win, host Beerschot in a basement battle: Namur are bottom on three points, Beerschot ninth on six. Dragons host Daring, with both sides stuck on five points and desperate to climb away from the relegation places. Racing host Uccle Sport to complete the card, with Racing seventh on 10 points and Uccle sixth on 12.
Six games, and just about every one of them moves something: the title race, the playoff race, or the drop. That’s a proper Sunday.
Sunday 8 November fixtures: Braxgata v Gantoise, Dragons v Daring, Léopold v Herakles, Namur v Beerschot, Orée v Waterloo Ducks, Racing v Uccle Sport.
