Harambee Stars defender Okumu earns seven star rating in Gent's home loss

Harambee Stars defender Joseph 'Crouch' Okumu was on the losing end in Belgium's Julpiler League on Sunday night as they succumbed to pressure from relegation bound Oostende and lost 2-1 at home.

The fixture may have arrived too soon for Gent who played away to West Ham United on Thursday night's UEFA Conference League. Oostende, who had until then gone for for six games without victory pounced on the leggy Gent and recorded just their 7th victory of the season.

The loss left Gent stationed 5th on the table, nineteen points behind joint league leaders Genk and Royale Union SG. Gent will now focus on recruitments and rebuilding after a satisfying season that saw the team reach quaratefinals in the grueling European front.

Okumu was joint second highest rated Gent player from the fixture earning a 7.5 star jointly with midfielder Sven Kums. The 35 year-old Belgian midfielder bossed the center of the pitch alongside 25 year-old compatriot Julien de Sart who got the highest rating (8.1) from among Gent of players. 

Oostende took the lead courtesy of 23 year-old Scotland star Fraser Hornby in the 52nd minute but the hosts pulled even through Hugo Cuypers 25 minutes later. Lackluster defending allowed 23 year-old German Nick Batzner to pounce for Oostende in the 88th minute leaving not enough time for Gent to respond.

With the regular season coming to an end, the Jupiler Pro League will now proceed to play-off where the winners will be known before curtains come down on the season.