Patro Eisden 2023/24: Why they could be major Challenger Pro League contenders – tactical analysis

Founded 81 years ago, Patro Eisden have never featured in the top flight of Belgian football, with the club normally appearing in the second division of Belgian football. However, recently the club were in a bit of a poor situation, with them being relegated from the second division at the end of the 2004/05 season. Due to the fact that the club also did not have a license, it was renamed to its current name for the 2005/06 season and plied their trade in the fourth division. 

After a long wait, the club is back in the second division, with them being promoted to the Challenger Pro League after winning the Belgian National Division 1 at the end of last season. A lot of the credit can go to former Club Brugge goalkeeper Stijnn Stijnen, with the 42-year-old guiding the club back to the second division after being in charge since 2018. 

So far, after five matchdays, Patro Eisden have been brilliant, with the club sitting third, only two points behind Manchester City group club Lommel. They also are the second-highest scorers in the division, showing that they have not had trouble making the jump up a level from an attacking standpoint. This tactical analysis will take a look at a couple of Stijnens tactics, analysing them in detail and showing why they have been so successful in this young season so far. 

Preferred formation and lineup 

Five matchdays into the new Challenger Pro League season, and Stijnen has seemed to have found a couple of preferred formations, namely either a 4-4-2 or a 4-2-3-1. While he seems to have found his formations of choice, the same can not be said about all of the personnel. While the goalkeeper and backline have been unchanged, there has been more rotation from the Belgian in the midfield and attacking positions throughout the beginning of this season. 

However, through five games, Stijnen has been pretty consistent in his choice of starting XI, with the Belgian having a very experienced player added to his ranks in veteran Belgian footballer Stef Peeters. The 31-year-old has played for multiple clubs in Belgium, including Genk, Sint-Truiden, Zulte-Waregem, Cercle Brugge, and Eupen. The midfielder joined as a free agent this summer and has already made a pretty quick impact for the Belgian side. 

In fact, he made his first appearance for the club in Patro Eisdens last match against Anderlecht II, starting as a second striker in a 3-1 win for Stijnens side. As this tactical analysis progresses, we will take a closer look at the tactics of Patro Eisden and some of the secrets to their success in the early days of this Challenger Pro League season. 

Direct style of play, along with good second ball framing, leads to chance creation 

When watching Patro Eisden this season, one trend that begins to stand out is the more direct style of play that Sijn Stijnen has implemented to progress the ball into the attacking third. While they may look to play short in build-up phases initially, the result has normally been a long ball into the opponents attacking half, with Patro then looking to either win first contact or frame well for the second ball if they were to lose out to the opposition on the initial long ball. 

The data viz graphic above looks at all the progressive passes Patro Eisden has played so far in the Challenger Pro League this season. As we can gather from the data, most progressive passes from Stijnens side have been long balls from inside the defensive third, typically during build-up phases. 

Through the first five games of this new season, Patro have averaged just over 36% possession per match, showing their tendency to not necessarily look to stay on the ball for long during their possession phases. This possession stat is the lowest in the Challenger Pro League, emphasising the more direct style of attack that Stijnens side has utilised to relative success this season.