VW Hamme vs Harelbeke Match Recap - Oct 19, 2025

VW Hamme Stuns League-Leaders Harelbeke in Breathless 2-2 Draw, Signaling a Turning Point in the Second Amateur Division

On a brisk Sunday afternoon at the Gemeentelijk Stadion Vigor Wuitens Hamme, the script of the Second Amateur Division—VFV A was rewritten in real time. VW Hamme, battered and inconsistent this autumn, defied expectations to hold third-place Harelbeke to a pulsating 2-2 draw, delivering one of their most spirited displays of the campaign. For 90 minutes, two teams with contrasting recent fortunes collided, and when the final whistle sounded, the mood in Hamme was one of hope reclaimed, while Harelbeke left pondering the cost of dropped points in the chase for promotion.

The match unfolded with the brisk tempo and edge often reserved for title-deciders, not meetings between teams separated by eight points and eight places in the standings. Yet from the opening kick, Hamme dispelled any notion of inferiority, pressing Harelbeke’s defense and winning early corners as a capacity crowd found its voice. It was the visitors, however, who struck first: in the 17th minute, Harelbeke’s leading scorer—showcasing the form that has carried his side into the top three—finished off a sweeping move with a crisp volley from the edge of the box. The goal, clinical and composed, appeared to set the tone for a routine afternoon.

But Hamme, coming off a frustrating 0-1 defeat at KRC Gent and showing flashes of resilience amid their recent struggles, responded with urgency. Just eight minutes after Harelbeke's opener, Hamme found their equalizer through captain Jonas De Wilde, who latched onto a looping cross to bundle the ball home. The goal was emblematic of Hamme's season—tenacious, scrappy, and refusing to yield even when the odds seemed long.

The equalizer injected belief and, for the next quarter-hour, Hamme pressed for more. Harelbeke, unbeaten away since September, looked momentarily rattled, their passing game interrupted by Hamme’s energetic midfield. Yet, as halftime approached, Harelbeke restored order with a moment of quality. In the 41st minute, winger Yassine Bouziane cut inside and curled a shot beyond the outstretched arms of Hamme’s goalkeeper, igniting the traveling supporters and restoring Harelbeke’s slender advantage.

If Harelbeke expected Hamme to fade after the break, what followed instead was a masterclass in home determination. The hosts surged forward, urged on by a crowd sensing an upset. Ten minutes into the second half, Hamme’s relentless pressure forced Harelbeke into a defensive miscue—center-back Tom Vervoort caught a trailing leg and earned himself the first red card of the afternoon. Down to ten men, Harelbeke retreated, and Hamme capitalized within five minutes. Young forward Arne Van Damme pounced on a spilled save, smashing home the equalizer and sending the stadium into rapture.

From there, the match became a test of nerve and resolve. Harelbeke, so often the aggressors in recent weeks, were forced to defend in numbers. Hamme pressed for a winner but were denied repeatedly by Harelbeke’s substitutes and a sprawling save in stoppage time. When the final whistle arrived, both sets of fans applauded—a tacit acknowledgment of the drama they had witnessed.

The result reverberates well beyond the stadium. For Hamme, it marks a turning point in a campaign that has, until now, lurched between promise and frustration—a deserved point, their second draw in four weeks, and a signal that they can challenge the league’s elite. They remain 11th in the table with 8 points from 7 matches, but having held one of the division’s form teams, belief is growing on familiar turf.

Harelbeke, meanwhile, must reckon with a squandered opportunity. A win would have solidified their grip on third and kept the pressure on the leaders; instead, the draw leaves them on 14 points, vulnerable to the chasing pack. In their last five outings, Harelbeke have drawn twice and lost once—a wobble that threatens to undermine their early-season surge.

This fixture, traditionally tightly contested, once again delivered tension and drama. Head-to-head, Harelbeke have enjoyed the upper hand in recent seasons, but today’s result tilts momentum, suggesting that VW Hamme’s days of passive resistance may be ending.

As the league approaches its midpoint, both teams face crucial weeks. For Hamme, the challenge is to translate inspired performances like today into consistency—each point now a step closer to cementing safety and perhaps more. For Harelbeke, the message is caution: the division is unforgiving, and every lapse is magnified. The promotion race remains wide open, but without a return to winning form, Harelbeke’s ambitions may falter.

The final act in Hamme was not triumph or defeat, but a shared acknowledgment of possibility—VW Hamme, no longer merely surviving, and Harelbeke reminded that every point, every duel, matters. The match was, in the end, not just a draw, but a sign that in this league, the season’s narrative is far from finished.