PONTINIA, Italy (Interstat) — The opening weekend of Belgium’s First Amateur Division produced a hard-fought but ultimately fruitless stalemate as Thes Sport and Liège played to a 1-1 draw on Sunday at Stadio Comunale.

The match, which kicked off the league campaign for both sides, saw each team cancel out the other’s goal in a contest that failed to produce a winner despite pregame projections favoring the hosts.

Liège, the visiting side, struck first against the run of play in the 26th minute. Veteran attacker Jérémy Louis Perbet, a 6-foot Frenchman from Le Puy-en-Velay, provided the finishing touch, putting the visitors ahead with his first goal of the new league season. The lead came shortly after Liège defender Yannick Reuten received the game’s first yellow card in the 23rd minute.

Thes Sport, playing as the home team in this neutral-site fixture held in Pontinia, Italy, responded with growing pressure. The hosts saw two players booked in quick succession—Frederik Spruyt in the 33rd minute and Nick Hulsmans in the 48th—as they sought an equalizer.

Their persistence was rewarded in the 66th minute when forward Adriano Bertaccini leveled the score. The Charleroi-born attacker found the net to ensure Thes Sport earned a share of the points in its season opener.

The latter stages of the match grew increasingly tense, with Liège’s Jordan Bustin receiving a yellow card in the 87th minute. Neither side could forge a late winner, leaving the final scoreline reflective of a closely matched encounter.

The result leaves both teams with identical records to start their First Amateur Division campaigns: zero wins, zero losses and one draw. Liège’s overall record across all competitions this season moves to one win, zero losses and one draw. Thes Sport’s overall mark now stands at one win, one loss and one draw.

The draw constituted a minor surprise based on pregame analytics. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a 1-1 final score, but its ELO rating system gave Thes Sport a 61.3 percent probability of securing a victory.

The match was part of the league’s opening week, though it was contested at a neutral venue outside of Belgium. Liège entered the match following a high-scoring 5-1 victory over Gullegem in a prior competition on Sept. 7, 2025. Thes Sport’s most recent results included a 1-0 loss to Knokke on Aug. 24, 2025, and a 1-0 win over Entite Manageoise on Aug. 17, 2025.