Nigeria winger Chidera Ejuke was on target in CSKA Moscow’s 2-0 win against Akhmat Grozny on Saturday, reports Completesports.com.
Ejuke netted the second goal for CSKA Moscow in the 74th minute after Vladislav Yakovlev put the hosts ahead three minutes earlier.
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The 23-year-old, who replaced in the 88th minute by Baktiyor Zainutdinov has now two goals in five league appearances for his club.
In England, the trio of William Troost-Ekong, Oghenekaro Etebo and Emmanuel Dennis all featured for 90 minutes in Watford’s 2-0 defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion at the AMEX Stadium.
Shane Duffy and Neal Maupay scored both goals for the Seagulls.
35 Comments
I watched the Watford vs Brighton game to see how our boys perform especially with the qualifiers coming up, and honestly we need better midfielders in squad than Etebo and better centre backs than Ekong if the team is to truly fulfil its potential.
Against Bisouma, Etebo was constantly off the pace and Brighton had the freedom to do as they pleased in midfield. It was ridiculous. Ekong committed an error leading to the second Brighton goal, and he also got his positioning wrong on the zonal marking for the first goal.
Centre back, midfield and number 9 is the spine of the team, and we will be in for a shock if any part of that spine is deficient not to talk of two parts.
The coach really has a lot of work to do before the qualifiers and nations Cup start.
I agree with you Etebo was off the pace against Brighton…..he doesn’t have the legs or positioning to be a starter in SE…..Bissouma completely dominated that midfield. Dennis was starved of service, so couldn’t do much…he scored a good goal but it was correctly ruled out for offside…..Ekong had a decent game just unlucky to make that bad pass that caused the second goal
Watford lose… I watch Ekong pass a sloppy ball that was intercepted for the second goal against Watford. Etebo was heavy and could not make himself available for ball callups from defence… We still have some players that are overhyped… Ekong should not be starting our games… that guy is poorman’s Isaac Okoronkwo! As per Ekong… that guy lack confidence and has never been a ball playing central defender… Very clumsy! Efan Ekoku blasted him in commentary for that horrible pass… Awaziem is better than that guy and even Umeruo! For someone who started football in Central Europe he had to route his ascendancy through lowly Norwegian league…
@ Jimmyball, yes Ekong made a mistake, but is this how to criticize his mistake? All I can understand about your comments here is pure hate. Sorry if I m wrong but I honestly doubt I am. One mistake, yes costly but overall Ekong did well. Your even singing the praise of British boys who poured mud on Nigeria soccer fans faces now makes me to truly understand what you represent.
@GLORY… Go to all allnigeriasoccer.com and read what Efan Ekoku said about him. With people like Ekong… We can’t rely on our defence… see what he did against Mahrez at Afcon 2019… scoring an own goal under pressure… the guy na shorting period.
If you cannot play football… no matter the packaging you will remains whack! Ekong is a zero player…. Zero, aswear to god na halfcaste hype that guy the use for national team… I have never been a fan of that guy. Give me Tosin Adarabioyo and Tomori… I will ask Ekong to go learn vulcanizer…
Onyeka and Iwobi where a joy to watch….. Dennis too had a decent game but Etebo was not as usual mainly because he was starved of possession as Watford where totally outplayed in midfield….. Ekong is showing too much respect to the premier league hence his lack of confidence.
Guys make una calm down, though I didn’t watch the Brighton/Watford game but 1 poor game in EPL cannot cost Etebo his place in the SE as you guys are insinuating, the same Etebo that has been one of SE ‘s best performers at both World Cup ‘2018 and Afcon 2019.One even said that he is “Overated”. I watched Watford Ist League game vs Aston Villa and this same Etebo was solid in the midfield with a post-match rating of 7/10, So I vehemently disagree with you guys that Etebo doesn’t deserve his SE place, When he churns out 10 poor EPL games in a row, then you guys could have a valid point , not only this single game which Sky sports analysts affirmed that the entire Watford team was poor on the day.
A top player should perform every night… else you are average.
Maybe the Watford coach is using Etebo wrongly Lmao!!! Abi is it not the Etebo that should be the AM of the SuperEagles?? Lmao!!! Honestly Bissouma totally outplayed Etebo in midfield today. I was just wondering if it was a Mali vs Nigeria round of 16 or quarter final game at the AFCON. All in all though he’s playing regularly and surely deserves his spot in the SuperEagles. I think Ekong was their best defender in that match. He wasn’t as bad as you painted him to be. Baring any fitness issues Ekong should be the first name in our defense. Awaziem who has been on loan for the past 6 seasons?? Or Omeruo who is stuck in La liga 2? You must be really on cloud nine. Whatever that shit is must be prime time.
The guy no be DM… Is that the guy to bench a seasoned Onazi or Joel Obi? Dirty politics too much for Super Eagles…
But he benched both Obi and Onazi at the WorldCup. He flourished with Ndidi by his side. He doesn’t have that luxury at club level. My only concern is that why is he not played as an AM?? Despite your comments about him not being a DM all this while??
Jimmyball,are you doing this to get at somebody or you are doing it for real? If you are doing it for real then you are so myopic and a mere bigot.Ekong was instrumental to Watford promotion to PL,And as Glory said aside from that mistake he was decent all through.
The annoying thing about you is that your comment is usually bereaved of education, ie after your senseless condemnation of Ekong it is expected that you should proffer areas he needs improvement so he can change,but your was just outright and senseless condemnation.
Do you know what it takes to build a professional career that you just wash down with some unreasonable comments.Best players in the world make mistakes, but the best coaches will encourage them on it so they can learn from it.
The other day you came on this platform to also castigate Okoye for conceding 4goals,as though he was the first to so conceed same.No you never made a comment about the so many saves Okoye made in that match to keep the result at just 4 goals.
Again,it is expected that every comment should come with good reasoning so that others can learn from,but am sorry yours as always been laden with uncouth hatred.So if you are a coach you will change every player in your team that makes a mistake and at the end have a fresh player in every game,how then do you achieve cohesion and team player.
There is absolutely nothing different between you and Omo9ja, all birds of the same feather.Change your ways before it too late.
@Emnanuel… Why dont you go and hang Efan Ekoku who slammed Ekong even worse…. that guy is not a good footballer period and he is the one playing ahead of Ajayi, Akpoguma, Umeruo and Awaziem. He should not be making such mistskes at this level… I am not a racist, did you see me criticize Ebuehi? If you are not good you are not good… Go and watch Adarabioyo…
Ekoku didn’t say anything out of the ordinary. He said it was a terrible pass that you can’t give Bissouma such an advantage. Cleverly was even too stoic in his approach to the ball. The pass was just sloppy against the run of play and it can happen to any defender. Overall he was their best defensive guy in that game. He made some timely blocks and also made some nice cross field passes. We do not have a better defender than Ekong in the present SuperEagles. Both him and Balogun will be the first names in defense. Akpoguma is the understudy to Balogun. One of Awaziem and Omeruo will be dropped eventually. Awaziem is likely going on his 6th loan move this season while Omeruo is stuck in La Liga 2. Who is fooling who? It is Ekong, Balogun, Akpoguma if all are fit in that order.
It’s like alot of Forumites here have been waiting for our EPL boys to have a bad game so they can come here and dance skelewu with their Judgement and verdict….. Ekong is new to the EPL and he will adapt quickly to it…..It’s not easy to play in the EPL and we must applaud this guys for atleast testing themselves with the best players crowd atmosphere and intensity in the world…..Ekong Etebo ride on….. its just a bad day in the office….. Bounce back strongest.
*Indidi
*Aribo
*Onyeka
*Ejaria (Presently on Isolation)
Then, Etebo. That’s how it is at the moment. Even I’ve never seen Semi Ajayi that heavy whenever he plays from the middle.
As for Ekong, he’ll get it right but seriously, we can do better.
Ejiara that have not debut for his new club and also for SE. Wait let him have one bad match now u will hear different tune just like they are doing to Ekong, Etebo that they praise to high heaven just last week. They haven’t stop crying over Rohr loosing to Madagascar and Algeria till today. As for Jimmyball I have always been saying that that man is a racist his comments has always been full of hate, sentiment,biase and mostly senseless.
Etebo was heavy, immobile unlike bissouma and sloppy today but he had some deft touches on the ball…
Ekong had a decent game apart of that mistake which eventually turnedout to be the defining moment of the game. But the Watford team today didn’t show that they were premiership level most especially, in the first half of the game.
Dennis! Wow! That guy has it in him very fast, agile with good vision, nice shooting ability, sweet take-on and always confidence on the ball. I love his playing style.
I will love to watch him play with Lookman comes one day in the Super eagles.
Etebo is never a defensive midfielder. He was used twice in this position for Watford this season. The first match he did well, the second not so well.
People can slam him all they want, but look at it in context, he’s being used to shield the defence. That is not his “bread and butter”, that is not what he’s good at
@Jimmyball it’s so unfortunate how u criticise ekong a player dat was instrumental to Watford promotion even in super eagles he has not done badly but it’s obvious u dislike him…….please try to encourage ur country man its not easy for them out there.the pace and pressure in the premier league is crazy.ekong ll improve it was jus a mistake let’s support him wit words of encouragement same goes to etebo and Dennis.
Don’t mind Jimmyball, so glad that his opinion does not matter here.If you like cry and Waile more than that,Ekong will still play the next match.You know what, the Terry John of this world and the Canavaros of this world made worst mistakes.This is the reason Dr.Drey will always run you aground for your unintelligent analysis.
Again change before it’s too late.
@Jimmyball, Ekong is a zero baller, Etebo is not good.Yet u expect Rohr to win the next Afcon. Mahrez, Mane, Salah and Bailly play in the same league and their NT coaches are not bragging abt winning the Afcon o.
@Sammy thank you, for your analysis you see the reason we talk Rohr has alot to offer super eagles he should search for tactical players not waiting for already made players because the way i am seeing it he needs to recheck there are some players in super eagles squad of which they should have not been in super eagles first team squad but what do we know is unfortunate were there is corruption what do you expect.
@Emmanuel who is @Dr.Drey… Someone who relies on Wikipedia and Google searches… that was how he tried to discredit me with Wikipedia citation that did not recognized that Ben Iroha already had over many caps and not just 1 cap
Post Tunisia 94.
Do you know me as a person? Go and sit down, Ekong is a very poor central defender… When the likes of Taribo, Godwin Okpara, Uche Okafor and Uche Okechukwu played for Eagles… don’t you know what quality they got?
We should not say the truth because he contributed to Watford promotion… if he did well in championship, why can’t he maintain consistency in the EPL proper now?
He is panicky and does not inspire confidence… Own goal in Afcon 2019, penalty in world cup 2018 against Croatia, recently played a similarly poor pass that led Anguissa of Cameroon to score against us… Yesterday he did same at club.
If you are average you are average.
Hehehehehe….and what did you use in your satanic attempt to chalk off all Ikpeba’s caps to validate your lies that Ikpeba only earned a 3rd cap vs England in 1995….???? LMAOoo….the same Wikipedia that told us Okenla debuted for Nigeria in 1994 and retired with only one cap…. LMAOOO….and fake links with fake lineups featuring Jack Daniels, Johnny Walker and John Jamesons…. LMAOOO.
Somebody had to go all the way to 2019 to look for bullet to kill ekong. Awaziem that conceeded an unforced own goal Vs ordinary Lesotho, hardly completes a game without a card and can’t find a club to settle down and Omeruo who got turned 360 in his own 6yard box Vs Tunisia have suddenly become our defensive messiahs…. LMAOOO.
Somebody’s level of racial hatred and bigotry is epic….. LMAOOO
It is way better to be reliant on Google searches than being a chronic well known pathetic liar……LMAOOO.
Just to digress and contribute to the discussion regarding Ikpeba’s caps before US’94.
Between 1992 and ‘93, Ikpeba played in the third place match of Senegal ‘92 against Cameroon, and in both legs of the US’94 qualifying matches (preliminary round) against South Africa in October 1992 and January 1993.
There is also a very strong likelihood that Ikpeba played the away game against Congo in the same World Cup qualifying round in December 1992 (I can’t confirm this one because the match was not shown live in Nigeria then, and I can’t lay hands on the squad list).
In 1994, during the group games of Tunisia ‘94, Ikpeba replaced Rashidi Yekini in the 0-0 draw against Egypt.
Ikpeba also played in a couple of friendlies including one against Georgia before US’94 where Tijani Babangida shone so much that there was a big debate on who (between Ikpeba and Babangida) should be included in the World Cup squad. Others include the 0-0 friendly against Ghana in March 1994 and the friendly against Romania (0-2 loss for Super Eagles) in May 1994 (part of US ‘94 preparation friendlies).
I believe, if one can dig out the match day squad lists for the Tunisia’94 qualifying games, Ikpeba’s name will crop up in a couple of them.
Aleks may you walk and never stumble. Ikpeba only started playing games for the SuperEagles after Atlanta 96 Lmao!!!! Ikpeba only had 2 caps going to USA 94. Story story oo. Lmao!! Oga Jimmylie has been busted.
Hohahahaha…please wait till Jimmylie finishes another round of smoking his own shit, an assignment which I have given to him for voer a week now and which he is doing very diligently at the moment even to the point of vomitting blood….LMAOOo…he will come and give you some very satanic reasons to chalk off all these caps from the poor legend’s
profile….LMAOooo….so that his 2 caps lie MUST stand…LMAOooo.
I’ve listed all these and others, but he has been rigmarolling like a barber’s chair, looking for more lies to substantiate his lies that Ikpeba had only 2 caps going into USA 94 and only got a 3rd cap vs England in 1995….LMAOooo.
That is what you get when someone shifts from watching French league in 1993 from his village in Benue state to having Multichoice in 1995 to having an uncle who worked in NITEL in the 80s that hotwires LNB’s….LMAOOooo. The bloody liar had forgotten that pay TV in its early days in Nigeria used to come with that massive dish that looked like the one US used to send Astronauts into the moon……LMAOoooo. His uncle was hotwiring LNBs….lmao…yet he claimed to have be raised in a wealthy family…..LMAOOooo. Someone should pls tell him wealthy people dont hotwire LNBs to watch free-to-air when they can afford to subscribe to better quality viewership of bigger and better channels…..LMAOoooo
Ekong played a solid game yesterday, made one mistake that unfortunately resulted in a goal. That doesn’t make him a poor defender overnight. I can’t remember any defender in the world that has not made mistakes leading to a goal. Most (if not all) have scored own goals and conceded penalties at some point in their career.
Etebo had an off day. But his performance may also be down to the tactical formation of his team and that of the opponent. While defending the more advanced midfielders of Watford were not falling back quickly enough, mostly leaving Etebo isolated among 3 or 4 BHA midfielders/forwards. Not enough excuse for his performance below his usual high standards, but still a contributory factor.
That said, the season has only started – two games – one excellent performance and one off day is not enough to crucify a player. Much as we wish these players to keep on improving and always be at the top of their game, it is also our responsibility as fans, and as Nigerians to encourage them during challenging times.
Yes, we may have had great defenders and midfielders in the past that played an inch level above our present guys (debatable), but presently Ekong and Etebo ranks among the very best that we have.
It is even my belief that Innocent Bonke of Molde, Sweden is a better DM than Etebo… But only Rohr knows how he calls up his loyalists… Etebo is not a DM and right now, I will pick Awaziem ahead of Ekong…
Ekong was decent in the game. Made a mistake with that pass that led to Brighton’s second goal. That was what affected his rating. It’s a learning point for him and our other center backs. I am not a big fan of “playing out from the back”. In this day and age when teams play high press football, playing out from the back is equal to asking for trouble. It is not worth it, unless you are Barcelona of the tiki taka era. We have seen so many avoidable goals conceded when teams try to play from the back. As a center back, IF YOU ARE UNDER PRESSURE FROM AN OPPONENT, JUST CLEAR THE BALL. Keep it simple. Dilly dallying on the ball will get you in trouble at the highest level of football most of the time. If you are not under pressure, then you can play from the back.
In my opinion, Ekong remains a very relevant player for the SE. A humble, hardworking, committed fellow. One mistake does not define him. I will only encourage him to be more vigilant next time. And once again, if under pressure, don’t try to play out from the back, JUST PUT YOUR FOOT THROUGH THE BALL. CLEAR IT OUT OF YOUR DANGER AREA. Better to lose possession with the ball out of your danger area, than to be picking the ball out of your net.
@ Pompeii God bless to you and others. This is the sound of people that know football. These don’t need to blow own trumpets. Taribo/ uche were chested out of position by Laudrup before he scored in 1998 world cup. Aderabioyo committed numerous blunder for Fulham which possibly could have resulted in Fulham being relegated, Balogun my no. 1 SE defender committed a blunder against Madagasca etc. But do those mistakes make them bad defender/ player? Definitely No. But only few who played/playing football with mouth see them as bad players. Majority of us here played football n probably still playing or raising potential future stars, so it’s sounds weird to read certain type of comments here about footballers, that you starts asking yourself,is it worth replying such ignorance.
Hehehehe….where you actually still believing that lying dude’s claim of playing football to the highest level….LMAOOoo…comon Glory, stop being naive….LMAOoo.
Someone who has rigamrooled from highest level to “affiliate” to “partaker”…..LMAOOoo. As you rightly said, no one needs to blow trumpet. See the comments of Mr “partaker” being lashed left right and centre already….LMAOOoo
Things will get better for the boys is just matter of time and we still have alot of time to correct things. Good or bad etebo still remain one of my best midfielders in the S E bcos of his strenght and work rate so far.