Nigerians Abroad: Akpeyi in Soweto derby, Mikel stars, Iwobi, Awoniyi, Aina on target Ekong, Moses on the losing side

It was a week of ‘firsts’, praises and accolades while for others a near miss. Quite a number of Nigerian players were actively involved for their clubs outside Nigeria over the weekend.

Sportsration.com gives a round-up of selected Nigerian players who were involved for their respective clubs outside the shores of Nigeria.

Victor Moses (Fenerbache, Turkey)

Retired Super Eagles winger could not stop his side from going down on Friday as their push for survival suffered a huge dent.

Artem Kravets’ 87th-minute strike gave Kayserispor a hard-fought 1-0 win against nine-man Fenerbahce at the Kadir Has Stadium.

Victor Moses who came on in the 46th minutes was on for the entire game but just couldn’t change the scoreline.

Leke James (Molde FK)

Nigerian striker Leke James was on target as Molde FK played a 2-2 draw against Kristiansund at the Aker Stadium in a club friendly game on Friday.

Nigeria’s Leke James opened the scoring in the 2-2 draw.

John Mikel Obi (Middlesbrough, England)

The praises of the Super Eagles captain was sung loud and clear across Riverside on Saturday as Middlesbrough played a 1-1 draw against table-toppers, Leeds United in a championship game.

The former Chelsea star who was only playing his third game for the Smoggies since joining them for the rest of the season already got his own song in appreciation for his contribution to the team.

He was unlucky not to win in a game he was all over the pitch, dictating the tempo for his club as they fell to a 101-minute goal on Saturday.

Alex Iwobi (Arsenal, England)

Alex Iwobi ended his goal drought on Saturday when he slammed home a half volley in Arsenal 2-1 away win against Huddersfield.

The Super Eagles attacker had played seven games without a goal before his goal on Saturday.

So far this season Alex Iwobi has scored 4 goals and assisted 6 goals for Unai Emery’s side.

Daniel Akpeyi (Kaizers Chief, South Africa)

Super Eagles goalie, Daniel Akpeyi, was involved in ABSA Premier League game over the weekend when his Kaizers Chief played a 1-1 draw against Orlando Pirates in the Soweto Derby played at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg.

The former Chippa United goalie gave his best but was unable to stop Pirates from Equalizing when Orlando Pirates winger Thembinkosi Lorch beat the offside trap to round the Nigerian before slotting the ball into an empty net.

It was his first game for Kaizer Chiefs.

Ola Aina (Torino, Italy)

Ola Aina scored his first ever goal in Torino’s colour with a powerful header as Walter Mazzarri side secured a 1-0 win against William Troost-Ekong’s Udinese on Sunday.

Ola Aina who is enjoying his time in Italy under the watch of the former Inter and Napoli boss rose the highest to nod home a cross for the only goal in the game.

William Troost-Ekong (Udinese, Italy)

William Troost-Ekong kept Torino strikers at bay but was helpless when his compatriot punished his side with a powerful header. William Troost-Ekong was on the pitch for the entire duration of the game in the 1-0 loss to Torino.

Taiwo Awoniyi (Royal Excel Mouscron)

Taiwo Awoniyi scored his 3rd goal in just his 4th game played for Royal Excel Mouscron in the Belgian top flight league after finding the back of the net in his side’s 2-1 win at Gent on Sunday.

Since he joined Mouscron in January, Awoniyi has continued to exude class and readiness to play for Liverpool when he is called upon (when work permit issues have been sorted) to represent the Reds.

Henry Onyekuru (Galatasaray, Turkey)

Henry Onyekuru was on the pitch the entire time as Galatasaray beat Anthony Nwakaeme’s Trabzonspor 3-1 on Sunday.
Henry didn’t score a goal but he was on for the entire game.

Anthony Nwakaeme (Trabzonspor, Turkey)

Anthony Nwakaeme assisted his side’s only goal in their 3-1 away loss to Galatasaray on Sunday.

By: Tope Adefala