Late Antonio Equaliser Denies Gent in Championship Round Clash with Mechelen

KAA Gent were held to a frustrating 1–1 home draw by KV Mechelen in the Jupiler Pro League Championship Round on matchday 31, as a stoppage-time goal from substitute Bill Antonio cancelled out Max Dean’s first-half opener.

Gent made the ideal start and took the lead in the 15th minute. Max Dean finished off a well-worked move, calmly converting after being set up by Michał Skóraś to put the hosts 1–0 up. The goal gave Gent control of the early stages and set the tone for a contest in which they largely protected their narrow advantage.

Jupiler Pro League FINISHED

2026-04-06 16:30

KAA Gent

1 - 1

KV Mechelen

Matchday 31 CHAMPIONSHIP_ROUND

Mechelen looked for solutions after the break and turned to their bench at half-time, introducing Bill Antonio for Dikeni Salifou on 46 minutes. The substitution would prove decisive much later, even as the second half remained tightly contested and tactical changes followed on both sides.

Gent adjusted their own setup midway through the half, bringing on Hyllarion Goore for Hyun-seok Hong in the 67th minute and later introducing Atsuki Ito for Abdelkahar Kadri on 71 minutes. Mechelen responded by swapping Benito Raman for Bouke Boersma in the 68th minute as they chased a route back into the match.

The closing stages were frenetic. In the 90th minute, Mechelen sent on Maxim Kireev for Tommy St. Jago, while Gent made a late double change, introducing Ibrahima Cissé for Wilfride Kanga and Jean-Kevin Duverne for Goore. Amid the reshuffle, Dean was booked for Gent.

Mechelen’s persistence finally paid off deep into stoppage time. In the 90+5th minute, Antonio struck the leveller, finishing from a pass by Mathis Servais to make it 1–1 and steal a point for the visitors.

The draw leaves Gent ruing a missed opportunity in the Championship Round, while Mechelen can take encouragement from their late response. Detailed statistics, full line-ups and additional match events were not available at the time of writing.

For more on the Belgian top flight, visit the Jupiler Pro League page on Ballaxy, or check the full match overview here.

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Jupiler Pro League Standings

Season: 2025/26

#	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Form
1	Royale Union Saint-Gilloise	30	19	9	2	50	17	33	66	L W D W W
2	Club Brugge KV	30	20	3	7	59	36	23	63	W W W L W
3	K. Sint-Truidense VV	30	18	3	9	47	35	12	57	W W W D L
4	KAA Gent	30	13	6	11	49	43	6	45	L L D D L
5	KV Mechelen	30	12	9	9	39	37	2	45	W L L L L
6	RSC Anderlecht	30	12	8	10	43	39	4	44	L L L W W
7	KRC Genk	30	11	9	10	46	47	-1	42
8	Royal Standard de Liège	30	11	7	12	27	35	-8	40
9	KVC Westerlo	30	10	9	11	36	40	-4	39
10	Royal Antwerp FC	30	9	8	13	31	32	-1	35
11	Sporting du Pays de Charleroi	30	9	7	14	38	42	-4	34
12	Oud-Heverlee Leuven	30	9	7	14	32	43	-11	34
13	SV Zulte-Waregem	30	8	8	14	38	47	-9	32
14	Cercle Brugge KSV	30	7	10	13	39	47	-8	31
15	UR La Louvière Centre	30	6	13	11	30	37	-7	31
16	FC Verbroedering Dender EH	30	3	10	17	24	51	-27	19