Maduka Okoye grateful for Udinese debut opportunity
Nigerian goalkeeper, Maduka Okoye has expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to make his Udinese debut. SportsRation reports.
Okoye made his first appearance for Udinese in the Coppa Italia defeat to Cagliari on Wednesday, November 2, 2023.
Cagliari struck a late-winner to knock Udinese out of the Coppa Italia with a 2-1 result.
Despite the loss, Okoye was adjudged to have had a decent debut, one he his grateful for.
“It was unfortunate, but I think that in recent times we have been developing a good mentality, offensive and pattern,” the 23-year old told the club’s official website.
” I thank the club for giving me this opportunity to play, I will learn from this experience. It’s been a long time since I saw the pitch, I also thank the fans. I’m sure I will enjoy playing for this shirt.”
Okoye also expressed disappointment with the result which means Udinese end their cup journey.
“I think we pushed hard, some of us have waited a long time for this moment. We wanted to play and win, it’s difficult to finish like this because we conceded goals in the last minute”, he admitted.
“I would have been ready to face penalties but unfortunately we didn’t get there.”
Okoye joined the Italian outfit from Sky Bet Championship club Watford in the summer.
His time in England produced only two appearances but not much has changed with the move to Italy
In the last international window, Okoye earned a recall to the Nigeria national team and will hope to get back for the upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifier vs Lesotho and Zimbabwe.
