Nicholson breaks goal drought in Belgium

National striker Shamar Nicholson ended his goal-scoring drought and got his Belgian club Charleroi back to winning ways as they defeated bottom club Sint-Truiden 2-1 in their Jupiler League fixture last Saturday at the Stayen Stadium.

Having gone more than a month without scoring, the 23-year-old Nicholson scored the game winner in the 51st minute to stop his team's winless run at five games. While Charleroi started brightly this season with six straight wins, they have only managed to accumulate three points from their previous five games.

Their last win was on October 31 in a 3-0 win over Cercle Brugge which was also the last time Nicholson found the net in the league. Nicholson contracted COVID 19 while on international debut for the Reggae Boyz in November and his late clearance from Saudi Arabia resulted in his unavailability for the November 22 game against KAA Gent which they lost 1-0.

A BRILLIANT GOAL

Charleroi took the lead in the 25th minute through Mamadou Fall with a brilliant drive that flew past Truiden goalkeeper Daniel Schmidt. Truiden, who also came into the game with a five-match winless run, managed to restore parity two minutes before half time. A poor clearance from Charleroi goalkeeper Remy Descamps allowed Liberato Cacace to guide his pass to Duckens Nazon to tap home from close range.

It only took Charleroi six minutes after the half-time break to restore their lead. Nicholson received a great pass from the left-hand side and while his initial shot was saved by Schmidt, he could not stop Nicholson's follow-up for his fifth league goal of the season. Truiden were reduced to 10 men in the 69th minute when Samuel Asamoah was sent off for his second yellow card offence.

The win means that Charleroi are currently in fifth place with 27 points, one point from the top four and six points from defending champions and current leaders Club Brugge. They face a quick turnaround as they travel to play Cercle Brugge today before hosting Anderlecht on Friday which features national defender Kemar Lawrence. The top four teams at the end of the season advance to the championship playoffs where the title and next season's Champions League places are decided.