Crotone of Italy hitman, Simeon Tochukwu Nwankwo (Simy) and UD Almeria of Spain striker, Sadiq Umar both proved at the weekend that they just cannot stop scoring for their respective clubs, while Peter Olayinka and Funsho Bamgboye were also both on song in Eastern Europe.
While Umar hit home his 18th goal of the season in the Spanish second division and took his side closer to automatic promotion back to the top-flight LaLiga, Chelsea of England striker, Tammy Abraham scored a hat-trick against Luton Town in the English FA Cup.
Megasportsarena.com reports that Abraham was on fire all evening long, as The Blues booked a spot in the next round of the Cup competition, as the Nigerian-born lad netted two goals in the first 17 minutes of action and then completed his treble in the 75th minute.
The England international was at the right place at the right time to pounce on a loose ball inside the box to beat with a shot into the net in the 11th minute, then struck again with a tap in from a close range after a cross from Reece James evaded the goalkeeper.
Luton responded with a goal after Jordon Clark connected with a defence-splitting pass to give the visitor a lifeline and made it 2-1 in the 30th minute, but Abraham showed great composure inside the box and put the ball inside the net to make it 3-1.
In Spain, Umar hit target for promotion-chasing Almeria, which he joined after he scored six in the first half of the season for Partizan Belgrade of Serbia, and his latest strike helped his side get closer to Segunda Division leaders Espanyol.
The Rio 2016 Olympic Games bronze medalist restored the home team’s lead in the 76th minute only for Sabadell to salvage a 2-2 draw on the road, thereby taking Almeria to 43 points from 22 matches, two behind current LaLiga leaders, Espanyol and second-placed Mallorca.
In Italy, Simy Nwankwo made it back to back goals in the Italian Serie A on Sunday evening, but he could do little to stop his relegation-threatened Crotone side from losing 2-1 away to Fiorentina.
The 28-year-old ‘Simy’ kept his place in the starting 11, with the visitors hoping to earn back to back win for the first time this season, but Crotone had their work cut out for them after 20 minutes when Giacomo Bonaventura’s shot from outside the box beat everyone to make it 1-0.
Former Bayern Munich of Germany winger, Frank Ribery then got into the act as he provided the assist for Dusan Vlahovic to make it 2-0, as the hosts went into the break in the driving seat, but Simy then set up a tense finale when he halved the deficit six minutes after the hour mark.
He headed home from a Pedro Pereira cross to make it 2-1 but the host held on to claim three points, with Crotone suffering their 13th loss of the season, even as Simy equaled his best ever tally of goals in Serie A, matching seven he scored during the 2017/18 season.
In Hungary, Bamgboye continued his fine run in the Hungarian NB I league on Saturday evening, as he scored twice in the first half to inspire his side to a 5-0 win away to Ujpest, against who the 22-year-old started his 12th league game.
With the visitors hoping to close the gap on league leaders Ferencvarosi, the Chile 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup revelation wasted no time as he beat the offside trap after just six minutes and raced clear to slot past the helpless goalkeeper.
Bamgboye then made it 2-0 on 20 minutes, this time benefiting from a gift from the goalkeeper, who fumbled the ball and allowed the winger slot over his head into an empty net, after which Bubu Zivzivadze then put the game beyond the hosts ten minutes after the break to make it 3-0.
While Bamgboye took his tally to six goals for the season and is now six behind leader Janos Han who has scored 9 goals this campaign, two further strikes from substitute Ivan Petriak and Nemanja Nikolic’s ensured the visitors earned their ninth win of the campaign
In Czech Republic, Olayinka got off the bench to score his first league goal of the year and helped Slavia Prague win 3-1 away to MFK Karvina, the 25-year-old striker going on for Oscar Dorley at a point things were going pretty tough for his side.
That substitution turned the game in favour of Prague, as they found the breakthrough goal six minutes later when the impressive Abdellah Sima made it 1-0 before Jan Kuchha doubled their lead on the hour.
Kristi Qose set up a tense finale when he made it 2-1 from the spot before Olayinka ended any hope of a comeback when he scored five minutes from time to seal the victory with a strike that takes his goals for the season to four, while Prague stay top with 41 points from 15 games.
In England, Dapo Afolayan is still relishing his goal for West Ham United in the English FA Cup, as he helped David Moyes’ side to victory on Saturday, with their fifth win on the bounce, as they hit lower division side Doncaster Rovers 4-0 at London Stadium.
The 23-year-old Chelsea academy product made hay on his senior debut for The Hammers, three years after joining them and marked his maiden appearance with a goal eight minutes after getting off the bench.
Afolayan, who became the third Nigeria-eligible player to debut for West Ham’s first team this season, after center back Ajibola Alese and striker Ademipo Odubeko, revealed that he was told about his inclusion in the squad only after he was substituted during Friday’s Premier League 2 clash with Tottenham Hotspur.
Afolayan, whose other outing in the FA Cup was against Wycombe Wanderers in November 2017, with non-league side, Solihull Moors, told BBC Sport: “I am delighted it is a dream come true. it has been a couple of years of hard work since I joined the cub.
“I thought Ryan (Fredericks) was going to square it but he had a shot and I just followed it in. I played 60 minutes for the U23s. When I came off I got told I was in the squad. I just had to go home and prepare.
“All I can do is come in every day and work hard and pray I get opportunities and take them. I have played in the FA Cup before. To score in the fourth round here is a dream.”
