Cercle Brugge booked their place in the next round of the Belgian Cup on Friday night.
Manneh gave Cercle the lead after twenty minutes. Sporting Hasselt pulled one back late through a Van Keymolen penalty, but could not find an equaliser.
The win provides a welcome boost for a team sitting 18th in the Jupiler Pro League with just three points from eight matches, having recorded zero wins, three draws and five losses. The side has scored nine league goals and conceded sixteen, resulting in a goal difference of minus seven. Their recent league form has been mixed, with one win, one draw and three defeats in their last five outings. During that run, Cercle conceded 10 goals while scoring only 4 themselves. In the overall title race, Cercle Brugge are a significant nineteen points behind leaders Gent.
Line-up and substitutions
Erick Nunes, Caicedo and Kouassi also came on in the second half. Cercle received four yellow cards, shown to Le Roux, Kakou and substitutes Martens and Kouassi.
Attention now turns back to the league. Cercle travel to face fourth-placed Union Saint-Gilloise on Sunday 24 October. The injured Omotayo Adaramola and Joel Ndala remain unavailable for selection.
Cercle Brugge secured its first win of the season in the cup match against Sporting Hasselt, manager Lars Friis confirmed. He made only one change to his starting lineup, with goalkeeper Lienard replacing Coucke. The club is 18th in the league with three points from eight games.
