Racing Genk of Belgium in-form striker, Paul Ebere Onuachu has admitted he was left deeply disappointed, despite netting his 19th goal of the season, as his side still went on to lose 2-1 against KV Kortrijk, but Taiwo Awoniyi is reeling on cloud nine in Germany, megasportsarena.com reports.
Speaking in the aftermath of his side’s defeat on Saturday, which left them second on the table, the former FC Midtjylland of Denmark towering attacker acknowledged that complacency was the biggest undoing by his team, as the players appeared to get overconfident with their early lead.
Onuachu it was who got the one goal for the visitors, but the Super Eagles’ star admitted he was disappointed that overconfidence accounted for Genk capitulating, after he netted for them four minutes before half time.
While still relishing his 19th league goal of the season and set for himself a new personal record for goals in a single campaign, a brace from Habib Gueye condemned Genk to defeat, with the singular effort from Onuachu subsequently counting for nothing.
“If you score and lose, it’s not good. Then you are disappointed. We started the second half too weak. Everyone looked at each other and we stopped walking. We played with too little energy.
“Kortrijk did that with good pressing. What the trainer said? That we have to be better on the ball and play with more effort,” the disappointed Onuachu told Radio 1.
In England, Faustino Anjori played as a second half substitute for Chelsea and helped The Blues pull through into the fourth round of the English FA Cup after thrashing League Two opponents Morecambe 4-0 at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon.
Mason Mount and Timo Werner gave Frank Lampard’s team a 2-0 lead at the break, after which Hudson-Odoi further stretched Chelsea’s advantage three minutes into the second half, before Havertz completed the rout five minutes from time.
Anjorin played the last ten minutes for The Blues, in place of Hudson-Odoi, as the Nigerian-born England youth international continued the impressive form that has seen him play at least one game for Chelsea in all competitions, with the exception of the Europa League.
On the other hand, three Nigerian-born lads failed to save Derby County from suffering elimination in the English FA Cup, as Osazee Aghatise, Ola Ibrahim and Festy Ebosele fell 2-0 with The Rams away to non-league outfit, Chorley at Victory Park on Saturday.
The Rams were forced to field their youth team players after several first team stars tested positive for coronavirus, paving way for the three Nigerian-born teenagers to get their professional debuts for the English Championship club.
Midfielder Aghatise, who started out with Manchester City before switching to Derby in the summer of 2019, was in the starting 11, Ibrahim, a product of Manchester United’s academy, went on six minutes from time, while Republic of Ireland under-19 international Ebosele took the place of Aghatise 19 minutes into the second half and the right-back was lively all the way.
However, despite batting efforts from the Nigerian-born trio, the visitors found themselves behind at the break, trailing through Connor Hall’s tenth minute goal and Mike Calveley’s deflected strike made it 2-0 six minutes from time.
In Scotland, Joe Aribo and Leon Aderemi Balogun were both on from the start and helped Glasgow Rangers extend their unbeaten run to 23 games with a 2-1 win over Aberdeen on Sunday.
Aribo and Balogun were in action for 90 minutes of their side’s latest victory, which stretched The Gers’ dominance at the top of the Scottish Premiership log with a 22-point lead over second-placed fellow-Glasgow-based rivals, Celtic, who have four games at hand.
Rangers had an early chance to gain the lead at the Pittodrie Stadium after Alfredo Morelos was brought down in the penalty area, but James Tavernier failed to convert from the spot in the 28th minute, following which Aribo and Balogun hailed firm with their teammates till the end.
In Turkey, former Flying Eagles defender, Valentine Ozornwafor finally made his debut for Galatasaray two years after first signing for the Turkish Super ig side, as the 21-year-old towering stopper replaced Ryan Donk in the 82nd minute of Sunday’s game against Genclerbirligi.
Last season, the left-footed central defender, who appeared in Gala’s jersey number 49, played on loan at UD Almeria of Spain, but he is now back in Turkey and helped his Istanbul-based side to a stunning 6-0 win at home, while moving up just a point behind table-topping Besiktas.
Same evening in Turkey, Vincent Aboubakar found the back of the net, Aaron Boupendza scored twice, while David Akintola and Rachid Ghezzal got assists as Hatayspor played out a 2-2 draw against Besiktas on Sunday.
Cameroon international Aboubakar has been in scintillating form for The Black Eagles this season and continued to impress at Hatay New Stadium and the centre-forward made the best of his 12th league start to register his ninth goal of the campaign.
Hatayspor leveled almost immediately when Boupendza fired his effort past the goalkeeper, Ersin Destanoglu after benefitting from Akintola’s assist, as the Nigerian-born lad gave a good account of himself in the fixture.
Aboubakar and Akintola featured for the entirety of the match while Ghezzal was replaced in the 68th minute for Georges-Kevin Nkoudou but the game ended with a share of the points at the end of full time.
In Germany, 1FC Union Berlin striker, Taiwo Awoniyi expressed delight with comparisons that have been trailing him with former Super Eagles’ hitman, Yekini Rashidi, who the lad on loan from Liverpool of England has been likened to in style and approach, even as his sudden burst of form has seen him net five goals this season, with three coming in his last three matches.
Awoniyi told bundesliga.com: “May his soul rest in peace because, in Nigeria, he’s a great legend. He’s someone that they talk a lot about when it comes to the national team, when it comes to what he has done for the national team.
“I wasn’t born when he was playing, but when I was told about him – by my dad, my friends, even the media – I went to YouTube and I watched him, I watched how he scored his goals. I see it as a privilege, and I see it as a motivation, for me to be compared to such a great player.”
