Nigerians abroad: Barcelona’s Oshoala at the double; Top scorer Adegbenro on target, Goalkeeper Nnadozie unbeatable
A few Nigerian stars made positive contributions for their teams as club football returned to the centre-stage on Saturday after a week of World Cup qualifying matches
Super Falcons hero Asisat Oshoala scored her first two goals of the campaign to power Primera Division champions Barcelona Women to a 5-0 victory at Real Betis.
The 26-year-old attacker was a 65th-minute substitute when Jonatan Giráldez’s side hammered Granadilla Tenerife by the same scoreline on matchday one.
But Oshoala, who scored 18 goals in 26 league games last term, was back in the starting lineup on Saturday and found the back of the net in the 48th and 69th minute.
In France, Super Falcons goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie continued her brilliant start to the league campaign as she kept a clean sheet in Paris FC 3-0 thrashing of Stade De Reims.
The 20-year-old shot-stopper has only conceded once in three league matches played – in the 4-1 win over Guingamp in the season opener.
Nnadozie made a string of fine saves to help her side return with a narrow 1-0 win from their trip to Fleury 91 last weekend.
And the Nigerian youngster was once again unbeatable as goals from Greboval, Mateo, and Corboz at the Stade Robert Bobin made it three wins from three for the Sandrine Soubeyrand-tutored side.
In the Japan J2 League, Peter Utaka scored the equaliser, and Origbaajo Ismaila netted a 90th-minute winner as Kyoto Sanga carved out a come-from-behind 2-1 victory at home against Ryukyu.
The two Nigerian attackers have accounted for 18 of Kyoto Sanga’s 46 league goals this season.
In Sweden, new Super Eagles midfielder Innocent Bonke lasted only 23 minutes in Malmo’s 1-1 draw at home to a Norrköping side parading the Nigerian duo of Samuel Adegbenro and Ishaq Abdulrazak.
Fresh from earning his maiden Super Eagles cap against Cape Verde, the reliable Bonke was thrown in from the start by manager Jon Dahl Tomasson.
The midfielder was, however, withdrawn from the game after picking an injury midway through the first half.
A 59th-minute strike from Bosnia and Herzegovina attacker Adi Nalic appeared to have given Malmo the three points at stake.
But Oshogbo-born Adegbenro smashed in the equaliser deep into injury time to earn the visitors a share of the spoils.
The goal takes Allsvenskan top scorer Adegbenro to ten for the season, two more than the chasing pack of Malmo’s Čolak, Häcken’s Jeremejeff, Degerfors’ Edvardsen, and Sirius’ Kouakou.
