Mechelen led this game. For a while, they were the better side. Then the second half arrived and Sint-Truiden took complete control.
Four goals. Three of them after the break. A 4-1 win for the Canaries that nobody who watched the first half saw coming.
Bouke Boersma put the hosts ahead in the 26th minute. Therence Koudou played him through, he finished well, and the AFAS Stadion had something to celebrate for the first time in a while. Mechelen had lost five of their last six against Sint-Truiden coming in. Maybe today was different.
It was not different.
Sint-Truiden had been quiet but they were not troubled. Visar Musliu headed a Ryotaro Ito corner goalward in the 35th minute. Abdoulaye Sissako had already forced Nacho Miras into action. The visitors were doing enough without doing everything. And then Joedrick Pupe scored in the 44th minute — Ito again with the assist — and that was the game changing.
1-1 at half time. Not the lead Mechelen wanted. Not the cushion they needed.
Then Ryan Merlen came on.
He replaced Kaito Matsuzawa right at the break. Routine substitution on paper. In reality it was the moment that ended this match as a contest. Within five minutes of the restart Merlen had scored. Keisuke Goto provided the pass, Merlen did the rest. 2-1 Sint-Truiden. Mechelen had not even settled back onto the pitch.
From there it was damage limitation. Kerim Mrabti had a go in the 53rd. Boersma tried again four minutes later. Both came to nothing. Sint-Truiden were comfortable, composed, and happy to punish any mistake on the counter.
Ilias Sebaoui made it three in the 63rd minute. Merlen returned the favour from earlier — one goal, one assist now in under twenty minutes of football. Mechelen looked hollow. The home fans had gone quiet long before this one hit the net.
Ryotaro Ito wrapped it up in the 75th. Sebaoui found him in space, he finished, and that was 4-1. The home bench made some changes — Benito Raman and Keano Vanrafelghem had already come on in the 73rd. Mrabti followed in the 84th. None of it mattered.
Merlen ended the game with a goal and an assist. He played less than fifty minutes. That kind of efficiency is hard to argue with. Wouter Vrancken made one substitution and it changed everything. That is good management.
Sint-Truiden had beaten Anderlecht 2-0 three days before this. Goto and Merlen scored in that one too. Two games. Six goals scored. Two conceded. They are flying right now and they sit third in the Championship Group, pushing hard for a European place.
For Mechelen this was a familiar story. They led. They had chances to extend it. They didn’t. The second half collapsed completely. They are sixth in the group and there is nothing left to play for beyond pride.
Frederik Vanderbiest will not have enjoyed that second half. His side had 57 minutes on the clock with a goal to their name and a crowd behind them. What followed was a proper capitulation. Three goals conceded. No response. No second wind. Just a long walk back to the dressing room.
Sissako picked up a yellow card in first-half stoppage time for Sint-Truiden. Fredrik Hammar was booked for Mechelen in the 92nd minute — by which point the only real question was how the afternoon had gone so wrong so quickly.
It went wrong when Merlen came on. Simple as that.
For Belgian Pro League coverage and match reports, head to fawanews.org.uk. Full standings and fixtures are on the official Jupiler Pro League website.
KV Mechelen 1-4 Sint-Truiden Jupiler Pro League, Championship Group Round 35 | Sunday, 26 April 2026 AFAS Stadion, Mechelen
Goals: KVM: Bouke Boersma 26′ (assist: Therence Koudou) STT: Joedrick Pupe 44′ (assist: Ryotaro Ito), Ryan Merlen 49′ (assist: Keisuke Goto), Ilias Sebaoui 63′ (assist: Ryan Merlen), Ryotaro Ito 75′ (assist: Ilias Sebaoui)
KV Mechelen (3-4-1-2): Nacho Miras; José Marsà, Mory Konaté, Redouane Halhal; Therence Koudou (Keano Vanrafelghem 73′), Mathis Servais, Fredrik Hammar, Bill Antonio; Kerim Mrabti (Bilal Bafdili 85′); Myron van Brederode, Bouke Boersma (Benito Raman 73′)
Sint-Truiden (4-2-3-1): Léo Kokubo; Robert-Jan Vanwesemael, Shogo Taniguchi, Visar Musliu, Joedrick Pupe (Simen Juklerod 73′); Rihito Yamamoto, Abdoulaye Sissako (Wolke Janssens 88′); Kaito Matsuzawa (Ryan Merlen 44′), Ilias Sebaoui (Shinkawa Shion 83′), Ryotaro Ito (Loïc Mbe Soh 84′); Keisuke Goto
Yellow Cards: Abdoulaye Sissako (STT) 46′, Fredrik Hammar (KVM) 90+2′ Half-time: 1-1
