Belgian First Division: Lokeren 2 Standard Liege 1

Lokeren moved to fourth position in the Belgian First Division after a 2-1 home victory over Standard Liege on Friday.

Peter Maes’ side extended their unbeaten streak to 10 league matches with the win, which sees them leapfrog Standard in the standings and sit just five points behind league leaders Anderlecht.

Both sides headed into the game full of confidence with Lokeren looking to keep their unbeaten run alive and Standard carrying momentum from a 7-0 drubbing of Lierse in their last fixture.

But any hopes of an easy Standard win were crushed after just 10 minutes when Benjamin De Ceulaer opened the scoring for the hosts.

It was De Ceulaer’s seventh goal in as many matches for Lokeren and he would prove to be thorn in the side of the Standard defence throughout the evening.

And it was De Ceulaer who once again found the back of the net to extend Lokeren’s advantage when he stabbed home from close range with just 10 minutes remaining.

The goal looked to have sealed the win for Lokeren but Standard fought back, although Mehdi Carcela’s injury-time strike came too late and proved a mere consolation.