Antwerp started the season with some good momentum after a pretty strong debut campaign and indeed signed some impressive new players to add guile and experience. They also made a quick start, with a run of seven games without a loss, and just one loss in the opening 12 even making the fans start dreaming about a title push.
That particular dream ended pretty quickly as the team fell on a few losses with limp displays where the attacking limitations became exposed. However, the team always remained pretty compact and assured in defence and never got into a rut that could threatened their place in the top-six.
Diemurci Mbokani and Lior Refaelov were the driving force of the team up front as the two summer additions definitely showed ample quality and determination, while at the back Jelle van Damme emerged as the most consistent player after initially looking like leaving the club in the summer.
The team began to slow down in January and February once they all but booked a spot in the top-six and indeed they started the play-offs in fine form. The Good Old took the scalp of eventual champions Genk and also won at Anderlecht. Yet they started to run out of steam by the end and just about missed on the third spot after two late losses in the last two games.
That set up a crunch game with Charleroi and the team had to go through the wringer to eventually prevail 3:2, coming back from two goals down. A spot in Europe is a deserved reward for what has been a satisfying and consistent campaign for a team that is going places and will strive to get even better.
