KAA Gent of Belgium youngster, Emeka Chinonso would take sheer delight in the impact he played in helping the club get a ticket into the new UEFA Europa Conference League on Saturday, megasportsarena.com reports.
The historic moment came on the day Chinonso got his debut for Gent, as he followed the example of fellow-former Water FC of Abuja star, Adewale Oladoye as a rookie in the main team, and played a role in helping the side clinch a spot in the newly introduced European clubs’ competition.
The 19-year-old Chinonso, who was part of Nigeria’s youth national team, Flying Eagles’ squad to the 2019 FIFA U20 World Cup in Poland, was introduced in the 79th minute but later received a yellow card in stoppage time.
He would, however, take delight in being part of history, as Gent won 2-1 away to KV Mechelen in a very physical encounter and went top of the play-offs on 38 points, three more than their foes of the day.
In England, Daryl Dike failed to save the day for Barnsley, who failed to gain promotion after settling for a 1-1 draw with Swansea City at Liberty Stadium, where Victor Adeboyejo made a surprise start in his 13th game from a possible 54 in all competitions this term.
Valérien Ismael’s side needed a win to progress, having lost 1-0 to the Welsh side in the first leg on May 17, but Matt Grimes curled home from outside the box to give Swansea City the lead six minutes before half-time.
Adeboyejo had no further involvement in the affair when he was replaced by Dike in the 46th minute and, with 19 minutes left on the clock, Barnsley’s leading goals scorer, Cauley Woodrow gave them hope with a terrific finish after he was set up by Jordan Williams.
The visitors had around 26 minutes including stoppage time to find a winner, but The Swans defended well and were able to hold out for a draw and will now face Brentford in the English Championship play-off final at Wembley for promotion to the English Premier League.
In England’s youth sector, Samuel Edozie was outstanding for Manchester City and helped his side beat Fulham 3-1 to secure the U18 National title on Saturday afternoon, ten days after The Citizens junior team also beat Burnley to win the U18 English Premier League North title.
They faced the southern division winners at Academy Stadium for the overall title and Edozie was on from the start upfront as part of a three-man attacking trident also consisting of Micah Hamilton and Carlos Borges.
Fellow-Nigerian-born striker, Tai Sodje was not in City’s matchday squad, while Fulham had Idris Odutayo on for the duration and Michael Olakigbe was a non-playing substitute in the game that ended as a contest when The Citizens were three goals up through Edozie, Borges and Oscar Bobb.
Edozie gave City a dream start when he broke the deadlock with a cool first-time finish from Larios’ cross in the third minute, before Borges slid home the Nigerian-born lad’s cross to double the advantage in the 7th minute.
In Denmark, Nigerian cadet national team, Golden Eaglets’ star at the 2019 FIFA U17 World Cup in Brazil, Ibrahim Sa’id scored his first professional goal for FF Viborg in a 3-0 win away to Fredericia.
The Dabo Babes Academy product made an immediate impact after getting off the bench to replace Justin Lonwijk in the 84th minute as he got on the scoresheet four minutes later, as he got the ball in the box, brushed off a defender, turned around and coolly blasted the ball home.
Sa’id is living up to the billing as the ‘Next Victor Moses’ as his first senior goal came after logging eight minutes for Viborg’s first team in two matches.
Prior to his first senior goal, the versatile winger caught the eye in the Danish U19 Boys Division, scoring two goals in four matches.
Capable of playing virtually anywhere on the pitch just as the Chelsea star, Said was handed his first team debut on April 16, 2021 when he played the last four minutes of a 4-0 rout of Esbjerg fB.
