Kamal Sowah: Leicester City loanee fires OH Leuven past Standard Liege

Kamal Sowah scored his first goal in the Belgian First Division A as OH Leuven silenced Standard Liege 1-0 on Saturday evening.

The Ghanaian youngster ended the Reds’ unbeaten run this season after firing past goalkeeper Arnaud Bodart with 13 minutes left to play.

Marc Brys’ team came into the encounter having secured a 3-1 victory over Waasland-Beveren, where the Leicester City loanee played every minute at Freethielstadion.

Against the Reds, however, they met strong resistance as they were unable to break past a dogged Liege rock-solid backline.

Just before half-time, Sowah blasted at goal after a fast Leuven attack launched by Thomas Henry, but his strike was repelled by goalkeeper Bodart.

In the second half, the hosts continued to dominate but were lethargic in the final third while the visiting team also missed the few chances that came their way.

Nevertheless, the visitors’ ambition of getting a positive result got dented on the hour mark after Nicolas Gavory was sent off by Lothar D’Hondt for a second bookable offence.

17 minutes later, Brys’ team sealed all points at stake after Sowah rounded off the opposing goalkeeper, thanks to an assist from Xavier Mercier.

SOWAH SCOORT DE 1-0!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/hr10f2auRy

— Oud-Heverlee Leuven (@OHLeuven) September 12, 2020

After ensuring his side were guaranteed all three points, the African was replaced in the 89th minute by Cote d’Ivoire’s Aboubakar Keita. South Africa international Darren Keet and Benin Republic’s Yannick Aguemon were not listed for the showdown, but Burkina Faso’s Dylan Ouedraogo was in action from start to finish.

For Philippe Montanier’s men, Cameroon star Collins Fai, Morocco’s Selim Amallah saw every minute of action, while Mali’s Moussa Sissako who is on loan from Ligue 1 outfit Paris Saint-Germain, Morocco’s Mehdi Carcela, Congo DR‘s William Balikwisha, John Nekadio and Burkina Faso’s Abdoul Tapsoba played no part in the game.

Thanks to this result, OH Leuven sit in fifth position in the Jupiler league having accrued eight points from five games, while Standard Liege remain in second position with 10 points from the same number of ties.

The Ghana youngster who was loaned from the King Power Stadium in 2018 would be hoping to add to his goal tally when his side heads to Diaz Arena for a date with KV Oostende.