DR Congo striker Edo Kayembe was on target as his team Kas Eupen settled for a 2-2 draw against Club Brugge in a Belgian Jupiler League match played at Jan Breydelstadion on Sunday.
Bas Dost and Charles De Ketelaere scored for the hosts with Kayembe and Julien Ngoy scoring for the visitors.
Being the first game of the season, every team was keen on getting maximum points to ensure they start their campaign well. It explains why the hosts started the game on a high, pushing for an early goal to destabilise the opponents.
However, neither of the two teams managed to get a goal in the first half, since the defenders cleared the danger around the 18-yard area.
The first goal of the match came in the 56th minute when the pressure from the home team paid off as Eupen committed a foul in the danger zone and the referee had no option but to award a penalty.
Dost rose to the occasion, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way to give Brugge a deserved lead.
But the lead lasted for only five minutes. The hosts failed to clear the ball from their danger zone, and it eventually fell to the 23-year-old Kayembe, who took his chance well to bring the teams back to level terms. It was a goal that brought new life to the visitors.
After their equalizer, they upped the tempo hoping to get the second goal. In the 77th minute, the Pandas' zeal paid dividends when 21-year-old Boris Lambert spotted the advancing Ngoy, and he precisely set the ball for him to score the second for his team.
It seemed like all was done when the regulation time ended, but the hosts were not going down without a fight. Their never-say-die attitude was rewarded when Noa Lang passed the ball to Ketelaere, and the latter ensured spoils were shared.
As a result, Brugge are sixth on the log with one point, the same as Eupen, who are a position lower.