Manchester United of England striker, Odion Jude Ighalo hit home another goal in the English FA Cup, and his second half looping kick on Saturday helped his side beat their hosts, Norwich City 2-1 at Carrow Road, while Anthony Ujah slotted one in for FC.1 Union Berlin of Germany and Emem Eduok also got one to his name for Hajduk Split of Croatia, megasportsarena.com reports.
While Ighalo struck in the 51st minute, then got an opponent sent off for blocking his goal bound run and later on got a foot in the move that led to his side’s winning goal that took them into the FA Cup semi-finals, Ujah ended his drought of going fifteen matches without netting.
Ujah’s run of matches without a goal ended with him getting on the scoresheet for Union Berlin in their 3-0 rout of Fortuna Dusseldorf on the final day of the season, as the ex-Warri Wolves of Delta State, Lillestrom of Norway as well as former Werder Bremen, FC Cologne and SV Mainz of Germany attacker made the best of the game at Stadion An der Alten Försterei to make hay.
Before Saturday’s goal, Ujhah last scored against Borussia Mönchengladbach on November 23, 2019, but he could not score in 13 straight Bundesliga matches as well as in DFB Pokal fixtures against SC Vert and Bayer Leverkusen this year.
The story, though, changed after 26 minutes, when Ujah was credited with the goal as he had the final touch after a volley from Joshua Mees, after which the former Super Eagles’ striker got an assist for Christian Gentner to give Union Berlin a two-goal advantage on 54 minutes.
Another Nigerian player, Suleiman Abdullahi, who replaced Ujah just past the hour mark, scored Union Berlin’s third goal, which was his first-ever in the German Bundesliga, from his sixth game for the club and a total of 152 minutes of action to his name.
In Croatia Emem Eduok hit his tenth league goal of the season to help Hajduk Split get a 2-1 win over visiting Slaven Koprivnica at Stadion Poljud where the ex-Rivers United of Port Harcourt forward headed home in the 59th minute and thereby also ended a five-game goal drought with his effort that helped his side return to second position in the HNL log.
In Denmark, Emmanuel Ogude scored for Vendsyssel FF, but his effort was only good enough for a 2-2 draw against visiting Kolding IF at Nord Energi Arena in Hjørring, despite him netting for the home team four minutes after half time.
The 26-year-old Ogude, who has seven goals in all competitions this term, including a hat-trick against Kjellerup IF in the Sydbank Pokalen, could not bell the cat for Vendsyssel, who are fourth in the log but twice gave up their lead on Saturday, as the opponents replied in each half.
In Sweden, Jordan Attah Kadiri opened his Allsvenskan goals account for the season with FK Ostersunds, but he also could not help his side to victory, as they fell 4-2 against table-topping Norrkoping, to mark a sad return for the Nigerian lad, who only recently regained full fitness after suffering an injury on the opening day of the four week old campaign.
Kadiri’s 51st minute strike gave Ostersunds a 2-1 lead but the lad, who wildly celebrated his first in the Swedish top-flight, but already has four in the Svenska Cupen, was replaced in the 89th minute, only for his team to concede two goals in the closing minutes of Saturday’s match.
However, the biggest talking point for any Nigerian player on Saturday came from Ighalo, who has now scored in each of his last three appearances against Norwich across all competitions, first of which were home and away during his days with Watford in the 2015/16 English Premier League season, and he again struck against The Canaries for The Red Devils in the FA Cup.
The former Super Eagles’ striker, who is in an extended loan deal from Shanghai Shenhua of China until January 2021, continued his remarkable scoring form since joining United in January, as he previously netted against Derby County in the FA, added to sizzlers versus Club Brugge of Belgium and LASK Linz of Austria in the UEFA Europa League.
He has now taken his tally to five goals in four starts and a total of nine matches for United which drew lofty encomiums for him from Norwich’s Nigerian legend and 1994 Africa Cup of Nations-winner, Efan Ekoku, who was an analyst for the game and described Ighalo’s instinctive knock-on of a sailing ball into the opponents’ net as poacher’s finish.
Ekoku, who played for The Canaries during the 1993/94 season, gloated: “It’s a lovely finish from Ighalo, little bit of luck, Luke Shaw is actually off balance, he’s sort of nudged into making this cross. That is not good defending from Norwich City – two players going for the ball – and they have left Ighalo.
“You’d expect him in an offside position but as the fullback was drawn out to try and deal with Luke Shaw, that’s a clever finish. It’s not quite off the boot, almost off the shin, it doesn’t matter, they all count. From that distance he just had to get it wide of Tim Krul which he did.”
