Trabzonspor of Turkey striker, Anthony Nwakaeme was back to goals scoring form on Sunday in the Turkish Super Lig, as he got one of the sizzlers in his side’s 2-1 win, while Sadiq Umar hit a hat-trick for UD Almeria in Spain’s second division.
Nwakaeme and Caleb Ekuban found the back of the net in Trabzonspor’s victory over Fatih Karagumruk, against which he got his 12th Lig start and delivered a fine performance to help the Black Sea Storm clinch their sixth win of the season.
Megasportsarena.com can report that the former Hapoel Be’er Sheva of Israel all-action attacker has been in sizzling form since he teamed up with the Medical Park Stadyumu outfit in the summer of 2018, but Sunday’s feat means he ended a five-game goal drought.
He had not scored in the league since bagging a brace in a 4-3 loss to Kasimpasa on October 30, but the story changed on Sunday, as he got full duration action for the fourth game in a row, having fully recovered from a thigh muscle strain that kept him sidelined for around two weeks.
Trabzonspor were in need of a lift heading into the week 16 fixture, having lost to Galatasaray in their last game of 2020, and Nwakaeme gave them an early lift when he blasted the ball into the net from close range to open the scoring a minute into the second half.
Nwakaeme, who featured for the duration of the game, has registered 21 league goals in his last two seasons for The Black Sea Storm and he notched his fourth goal of the campaign in Sunday’s victory over Karagumruk.
In Spain, Umar fired a sensational hat-trick in 29 minutes and helped Almeria sink Ponferradina 3-1, with his seventh, eighth and ninth goals of the season contributing to keep his side within the range of automatic promotion back to the Spanish LaLiga.
The win kept Umar’s side third on the Segunda Division table, with 41 points from 20 matches, same as second-placed Real Mallorca, who have a superior goals difference and have a game in hand.
Sunday’s feat also takes up the personal value of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games bronze medalist, who opened scoring in the second minute, doubled the tally on 21 minutes and completed his treble in the 29th.
The former AS Roma and Spezia of Italy, Glasgow Rangers of Scotland and Partizan Belgrade of Serbia attacker, who has scored against seven teams this term – being Cartagena, CD Mirandés, Tenerife, Alcorcón, Real Zaragoza, Malaga and Ponferradina – missed two more chances to add more goals to his name before he was replaced by Juan Villar in the 59th minute.
In Qatar, Anthony Okpotu opened scoring for Qatar SC in the Doha Derby against league leaders. Al Saad, but the game ended in a 1-1 draw, even as the former Lobi Stars of Makurdi attacker got his fourth goal and helped his side close on the front runners of the Qatar Stars League.
In Cyprus, Abdullahi Shehu helped Omonia Nicosia romp to a 3-0 win against AEK Larnaca, after which he dedicated the feat to the club’s fans, who he affirmed boosted them to earn maximum points in their first game of 2021.
The win also takes Omonia Nicosia to third on the log with 32 points, while AEK Larnaca sit fifth with 29 points, much to the delight of Abdullahi, who joined the Cyprus First Division side last September.
Fotis Papoulis scored an early penalty to give his side the lead. Ernest Asante made it 2-0 before completed his brace to make it 3-0 just before half-time, thereby setting the stage for early celebrations from Abdullahi, who has settled fine into the club and was on for 90 minutes of Sunday’s against Larnaca, but got a first half yellow card.
Abdullahi posted on social media: “First game of the year, a big win at AEK Larnaca. +3 points and a clean sheet. Team performance was excellent. Team performance was excellent. This is for our fans!”
