Watford of England defender, William Troost-Ekong has come under critical attack via the internet, after celebrating his club’s promotion to the English Premier League with a selfie that had him brandishing a thick cigar in his mouth, and a barrage of caustic comments followed from several fans.
Megasportsarena.com reports that the widespread attack came via various comments on social media at home and abroad, after Troost-Ekong led the array of celebrations from The Hornets’ quartet of Nigerian players, in the wake of their club’s successful return to the English Premier League.
Troost-Ekong was the only one of the club’s four Nigerian players that saw action in the decisive 1-0 over Milwall that saw Watford return to the EPL at first try, while Joseph Hungbo stayed on the bench for all 90 minutes, but Isaac Success and Tom Dele-Bashiru were not dressed.
However, Hungbo, Success and Dele-Bashiru quickly joined Troost-Ekong in celebrating the feat, even as the Super Eagles’ vice-captain, who moved to Vicarage Road from Udinese of Italy led the spree right there on the pitch after starring in the victory against Milwall.
They were all delighted that it took The Hornets only one season to make a return to the top-flight and they achieved the feat in fitting style right there on their home turf on Saturday afternoon, thanks to Ismaila Sarr’s winning goal from the penalty spot.
Sarr’s decisive finish in the 11th minute would also give Troost-Ekong personal satisfaction that he made the right choice with his shock decision last summer to join Watford in the English second-tier league from Udinese, who compete in the Italian top-flight.
Signed from Udinese in the summer transfer window, Troost-Ekong, who previously played for Dodrecht of Holland, Haugesund of Norway, KAA Gent of Belgium and Bursaspor of Turkey, has been a key player for Watford, with 31 starts in the Championship since his arrival from Italy.
The former Tottenham Hotspur of England youth team centre-back has since played a key role in The Hornets’ successful promotion charge, by featuring in 32 league games and delivering consistent solid defensive performances, which is in contrast with the stats for Success, who has only made eight appearances this season, having only recently returned from a hamstring blight.
Similarly, Dele-Bashiru played two games for Watford this season before he suffered a nagging hamstring injury that has stopped him from featuring since for the team coached by Xisco Munoz, hence his absence as they secured victory over Millwall at Vicarage Road.
The win took The Hornets’ points to 88 from 44 games, enough to confirm their return to the EPL at first try, as only two matchdays are left to the end of the regular season, and Watford are second in the table with ten points more than third-placed Brentford Town, who can only get a maximum of nine points from their remaining three games.
Injuries limited Success and Dele-Bashiru to only eight and two games respectively this season, while Hungbo, who is rated as one of the club’s most promising youngsters, has played four games so far, but they all expressed equal level of joy with similar reactions on social media.
Troost-Ekong, who drew the anger of fans and pundits for celebrating with a cigar in his mouth, declared: “DREAMS TO REALITY,” Success added: “Proud of this club @watfordfcofficial we’re going up,” Tom Dele-Bashiru chipped in: “ANNOUNCE PROMOTION WADMIN!!🐝 @WatfordFC #WatfordFC,” and Hungbo concluded: “We’re back 🏆 ..”
