Troost-Ekong, Etebo, Onyeka Not Dressed, Dennis Plays 12 Minutes As Sub

The chain of woes that befell Nigeria’s array of national team players in the English Premier League continued on Saturday, as William Troost-Ekong and Peter Oghenekaro Etebo were both not dressed by Watford, while Frank Ogochukwu Onyeka also missed action for Brentford Town.

All three had been in action for the Super Eagles when they failed to beat Ghana in Abuja and subsequently lost the chance of picking a ticket to this year’s World Cup in Qatar, but their hope for consolation from EPL matches this weekend did not materialise.

Megasportsarena.com gathered that only Emmanuel Bonaventure Dennis ended up seeing action among the Nigerian lot that toiled fruitlessly against Ghana last Tuesday, but he only played the last 12 minutes of Watford’s loss away to Liverpool.

While Dennis got off The Hornets’ bench late on in their 2-0 slump at Anfield, Etebo and Troost-Ekong were omitted from the squad for the match that saw Diogo Jota’s 22nd minute header and Fabinho’s penalty earn The Reds victory.

Onyeka was also not listed for The Bees’ outing at Stamford Bridge, where his side got a shock 4-1 win over Chelsea, who went ahead through Antonio Rüdiger with a long range effort two minutes into the second half.

Vitaly Janelt restored parity, before goals from Christian Eriksen, Janelt again and Yoane Wissa secured a win for Thomas Frank’s side in the London derby, but Onyeka could only watch on excitedly from the stands.

Aston Villa’s duo of Tim Iroegbunam and Carney Chukwuemeka also watched proceedings from the bench, as The Lions were beaten 2-1 by Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux Stadium.

Jonny’s early opener and an own goal by Ashley Young put Wolves 2-0 at the break and Ollie Watkins halved the deficit from the spot in the 86th minute, while Odel Offiah was a non-playing substitute for Brighton in their goalless draw with Norwich City.

Elsewhere on Saturday, Nathan Tella returned to Southampton’s squad in a 1-1 draw with Leeds United at Elland Road, making it his first appearance for The Saints since January 15, when he copped a groin injury.

Tella made his 11th EPL appearance of the season off the bench with three minutes to go, before which Harrison broke the deadlock in the 29th minute but points were shared courtesy of Ward-Prowse’s 49th minute free kick.