before scoring a second goal at the very end of the match. This meant that Lokeren went past Eupen in the standings, and meant that they missed out on direct promotion. The Pandas then turned to the play-offs for a chance to win a historic promotion, but morale was gone and the team recorded six defeats in as many games. To the sporting disappointment were added new financial problems which forced the club to once again sell its best players: Gebauer left for Charleroi, Taeter signed with Winterslag and Prokop with Aachen. The club, however, continued developing its infrastructure, creating its first board of directors and installing new lighting at the home ground. The team would struggle performance-wise the next few seasons, and suffered relegation to the Third Division at the end of the 1974–75 season. Ups and downs With René Irgel as new manager, Eupen won the title the following season, allowing them to return to the second division. This was, however, short-lived and the club relegated the following year. After several seasons in the third tier, the club won promotion again at the end of the 1980–81 season. During this period, three major changes took place at the club: the club chose to focus its sports policy on training, the City of Eupen bought the club's facilities for a period of 30 years in May 1979, and the club changed its name to become the Allgemeine Sportvereinigung Eupen. With mainly young players, Claude Siemianow won the club another title in 1984 on the final day of the season, beating Spouwen 5–1, while their main rivals for the championship, Alken, were beaten 2–0 by Mol. This title allowed Eupen to return to the third division. Top goalscorer in the league for the second consecutive year, Pierrot Thissen played an important part in this success. The club remained in the third division until the end of the 1987–88 season. For a few seasons, Eupen played in the Belgian Fourth Division. It even took the providential return of club legend, Hubert Van Dormael, to save the club from relegation in the spring of 1989. From 1992, performances improved. In 1995, under the leadership of Tony Fagot, Eupen finished second in the league and once again reached the third division, this time through promotion play-offs. Among the key players of this period are local goalkeeper, Frank Neumann and Frank Mockel. Behind the