Super Eagles assistant Captain William Troost-Ekong was once again overlooked for selection by Roy Hodgson, as relegation battlers Watford held Manchester United to a shock 0-0 draw at Old Trafford.
Troost-Ekong’s Nigerian teammate Emmanuel Dennis played for 90 minutes while Samuel Kalu was not in the Hornets’ matchday squad.
The defender is yet to feature for Watford since returning from this year’s AFCON, only making the bench in their last four games.
Despite the hard fought draw, Watford are in 19th place on 19 points and are three points from safety.
For United, it is two points dropped in their quest for a Champions League place.
The Red Devils had 22 shots against Watford but the only time they found the net was through Cristiano Ronaldo whose effort was flagged for offside.
They remain in fourth place on 47 points in the Premier League table.
And at the Brentford Community Stadium, Frank Onyeka was benched as Brentford’s poor run continued following their 2-0 loss to Newcastle.
The game saw Danish star midfielder Christian Eriksen return to football after suffering cardiac arrest at last year’s European Championship.
Brentford are now winless in their last nine games (eight defeats and one draw) and are in 15th on 24 points, three points away from the drop zone.
The newly promoted club were reduced to 10 players after Pelenda Da Silva was shown a straight red card.
Newcastle took advantage and scored in the 33rd and 44th minutes through to Joelinton and Joe Willock respectively.
And in other results, Michael Olise recorded his fifth assist in the Premier League as Crystal Palace were held to a 1-1 draw by visiting Burnley while Aston Villa beat Brighton 2-0 away.
15 Comments
Na wa o! So the curse still continues? LMFAO! I thought it had been lifted from the last week goal he scored? Please Dennis don’t near the SE with that curse. Thanks. LMFAO!
Abi na, have pity on Watford na. But I see championship in their future
…Nigeria will be wise to only play Eagles who are starting at their clubs in the run-up to play-off against Ghana. This one Troost Ekong is not playing now, when it’s time for the game they will want to use sentiment to play him in the name of experience.
We will be kidding ourselves to think Ghana is not there doing player-by-player analyses of squad members. We don’t need any player low on confidence and match rusty in that game… Qatar project does not need misplaced sentiments at all.
I don talk my own…
Olisa Ndah, Valentine Ozornwafor and Adekunle Adeleke are active for their clubs. These are defenders that provide solid foundation for Nigeria at the back.
In what SE match have you seen that solid foundation you are talking about @Igbekun Abo???
Talk is cheap bro
Ekong was not playing regularly prior to the Afcon yet he had a decent tournament.. I think we should not be quick to drop him, aside balogun who is injury prone and Kenneth ,do we really have lots of capable options in central defense.. don’t mention players with little experience
Semi Ajayi and Umeruo can handle anything Ghana can throw at us through that central defence…
I hope so.. ekong can also handle Ghana.
@Ololo… Ghana is not Guinea Bissau or Sudan o. Any player low on confidence should be excused… The game against Ghana is not your normal everyday match.
Balogun is touch and go with injuries. So he may not be available for the Ghana game.
Ekong not playing does not mean he’s not fit. He trains with his club regularly. So he’s likely fit and fresh.
If Ekong is indeed low in confidence and can’t be trusted to play Ghana, we still have other options that can get the job done. Omeruo, Ajayi, Bassey, Awaziem (hope he’s fit).
With Ebuehi out, Ndah is an option for the right back position as well. A good cover for Aina. He’s also a good center back.
Ndidi is also an option. In fact, these days, he seems to be more comfortable in the center back role than he is in the midfield.
There is also Anthony Izuchukwu, a talented center back who has yet to be given a chance. Playing him in a tie as crucial as the Ghana game may not be practical, but he definitely should be invited for future friendlies, so he can show what he’s capable of.
I am really scared when I think about our defense.. Ekong is not playing games, awaziem is not playing too.. We are left with second division players in ajayi and Kenneth.. Using new players like bassey and Valentine is risky, and balogun is injury prone.. For the game I will prefer a balogun- Kenneth combination.. I saw balogun in their last match with Dortmund, and i must say balogun was the reason they won Dortmund.. That man is good
If Balo and Omeruo are fit, we may not need Ekong. My major concern is that midfield. I don’t think we have a solution to the lack of creativity in that area yet. Maybe Iwobi could help in the mean time, but this one he won’t play the first leg. May God help us.
SE fans seems to have forgotten Akpoguma so fast that he doesn’t even get mentioned ahead of Div 2 players
Akpoguma is also not playing regularly.. he was on the bench for 90 mins in their of last match for Friday and I can’t remember the last time he started a game for his club side..
Considering he isn’t yet so used to super eagles I will prefer an aino , shehu, even awaziem or ndah to an akpoguma who is warming the bench for his team..
More options for right back position is badly needed at the moment.. we have abundant options at the left back, zaidu, Collins and bassey all playing for their team, even aino can plat left back , while we are very slim in the right back position.. this German Felix agu can be invited as well, he is getting games for weder Bremen in German 2nd division.. but it might be too early for him.. I can’t wait to see who our coach invite for the right back position
Being match-rusty for any player is scary… Practice and trainings have lower intensity and more margin for errors than a real match situation like WC playoffs against a rival like Ghana. May God help us get our squad and starters right… a second mistake can be costly.