Gantoise v Dragons: The Belgian Women’s Title Race Hits Its Biggest Day Yet

One point. That’s the gap at the top of the Belgian women’s league, and the two sides meet on Sunday. Gantoise lead on 24. Dragons are right behind them on 23, and they’re the only unbeaten team left in the league. Winner takes the top spot. This is the game the whole season has been building towards.

Dragons v Gantoise: first against second

Dragons haven’t lost all season. Seven wins, two draws, and a 1-0 win over Antwerp last weekend, settled by Granatto in the 56th minute. They’ve conceded 10 goals in nine games, and they don’t give much away at home.

Gantoise, though, have won eight of nine. Their only defeat is the one blot on an otherwise perfect record, and last weekend they went to Braxgata and won 2-1, Vanden Borre from a penalty corner in the 13th minute and Van Hecke in the 57th, with Carey scoring for the hosts in between.

The maths is simple. Dragons win and they go top, 26 to 24. Gantoise win and they open up four points. A draw and Gantoise stay top by a point, with Dragons still unbeaten. Either way, this one decides who spends the winter break looking down at the rest.

Antwerp v Leuven: third place on the line, sort of

Leuven are third on 20, and they visit an Antwerp side fifth on 14. Leuven beat Beerschot 1-0 last weekend through Denef, and they’ve quietly kept pace with the top two all season. Antwerp lost that tight 1-0 to Dragons, so they’ll be smarting. A Leuven win keeps them in touch with the leaders. An Antwerp win drags them right back into the top-four fight.

Waterloo Ducks v Léopold

Waterloo Ducks are fourth on 14 after a 2-0 win at Wellington last weekend. Léopold are bottom on four, but they finally got their first win of the season, 4-2 over Victory. That changes the mood around a side that had nothing to show for eight rounds. The Ducks will be favourites at home, yet Léopold have just remembered what winning feels like.

The rest of the card

Racing, sixth on 13, travel to Victory, second bottom on five, after beating Uccle Sport 3-0 last weekend. Victory’s defeat to Léopold was a bad one, and they need a response at home.

Uccle Sport host Braxgata in a mid-table scrap with real stakes. Uccle are 10th on six, Braxgata ninth on nine after pushing Gantoise close in that 2-1 defeat. And Beerschot, seventh on seven, host Wellington, eighth on 10, after both lost last weekend.

Fixtures, Sunday 15 November

Antwerp v Leuven; Beerschot v Wellington; Dragons v Gantoise; Uccle Sport v Braxgata; Victory v Racing; Waterloo Ducks v Léopold. Kick-off times were not published with the fixtures at the time of writing.

Table after Journée 9

Gantoise 24, Dragons 23, Leuven 20, Waterloo Ducks 14, Antwerp 14, Racing 13, Wellington 10, Braxgata 9, Beerschot 7, Uccle Sport 6, Victory 5, Léopold 4.