Friendlies Clubs· Season 2026
PEC Zwolle beat Cercle Brugge 3-2 in a pre-season friendly in Meppel. Thijs Oosting scored twice and Ody Velanas added a penalty winner after Cercle had twice equalised through Kouassi and Magnée.
Match Analysis
AI SummaryHow it unfolded
Cercle Brugge started the brighter side. After a cautious opening quarter-hour, the visitors' pressure told when Kouassi collected a pass inside the box, turned and fired home to give Cercle a 14th-minute lead.
PEC Zwolle responded after the first 30-minute break. Thijs Oosting equalised in the 37th minute, scoring at the second attempt after his initial effort was blocked. Eight minutes later, Oosting struck again — a curling finish into the top-right corner that left Cercle goalkeeper Gaëtan Coucke with no chance — to put the Eredivisie side 2-1 up.
Cercle hit back before the half-time whistle. Magnée headed home a cross from Jurado in the 60th minute to make it 2-2, a scoreline that held at the main break.
Both sides fielded entirely new XIs for the second half of the match. The decisive moment arrived in the 67th minute when Cercle substitute Kakou brought down a PEC Zwolle attacker inside the box. Ody Velanas stepped up and converted the penalty to restore the home side's lead at 3-2.
Cercle pushed for a third equaliser late on, with chances falling to Vanzeir and Ngoura, but PEC Zwolle goalkeeper Langenbick was rarely troubled. The final whistle confirmed a narrow win for the Dutch side.
The turning point
Kakou's mistimed tackle inside the penalty area in the 67th minute — the decisive error of the match. Cercle had just fielded a completely fresh XI and were starting the second half with energy, but the penalty conceded by the substitute swung momentum back to PEC Zwolle and gave them the lead for the third and final time.
Key performers
Thijs Oosting (PEC Zwolle) — ⭐ Player of the Match. Two goals in a 13-minute spell either side of the 30-minute break turned a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead. His second goal, a curling effort into the top corner, was the standout moment of the match.
Kouassi (Cercle Brugge) — Opened the scoring with a composed finish and led the line effectively in the first half before being substituted at the break.
Ody Velanas (PEC Zwolle) — Held his nerve from the penalty spot to score the winner in the 67th minute, the only goal of the second half.
Gaëtan Coucke (Cercle Brugge) — Made his first appearance for Cercle in goal and could do little about either of Oosting's finishes.
By the numbers — interpreted
The 120-minute format (4×30 minutes) with both sides making wholesale changes at half-time limits the value of conventional match stats. The 3-2 scoreline, however, tells an accurate story: four goals in the first 60 minutes reflected two mid-block teams willing to commit bodies forward, while the second half produced only one goal — the penalty — as both sides' second-string XIs struggled to recreate the same rhythm.
Cercle's official match report noted that apart from the penalty and one save, Langenbick had "virtually nothing to do throughout the second half," suggesting Cercle's second XI lacked the cutting edge of the first.
What it means
Both sides concluded week-long training camps in the Netherlands with this fixture. PEC Zwolle trained in Wissel (Epe) from 13–18 July and now face AEK Athens in a friendly on 26 July at MAC³PARK Stadion before their Eredivisie season opener. Cercle Brugge completed their Hoenderloo training camp and continue pre-season preparations ahead of the Jupiler Pro League campaign.
Verdict
A competitive, end-to-end friendly that served its purpose for both managers. PEC Zwolle's first-half intensity and Oosting's finishing were the difference, while Cercle showed encouraging signs in attack with two well-worked goals but will want to sharpen their defensive organisation before the competitive season begins.
Statistics are for informational purposes only. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
API data: 19 Jul 2026