Europa Conference League: Wonderful outing for Usor, Chukwueze and Olayinka for their respective clubs
It was a wonderful outing for some Nigerians on parade in the final round of qualifiers of the Europa Conference League on Thursday.
It was the duo of Moses Usor and Peter Olayinka that did the job for Slavia Prague against Polish side Rakow on the night. Usor scored first, while compatriot Olayinka assisted Ivan Schranz for Slavia Prague’s second in the comfortable 2-0 victory.
For Villarreal, former Europa League champions, their second goal came off the boots of Samuel Chukwueze. Generally, these Super Eagles stars were brilliant for their teams as they helped them seal a spot in the group stages of Europe’s third-tier competition.
Slavia Prague hosted Polish side Rakow in the reverse leg of their Europa Conference League qualification. The first leg ended 2-1 in favor of Rakow, and Slavia Prague needed to win by at least goal margin to book their spot in the group stages of the competition.
Having known the importance of the game, it was the Czech giants who were in charge for large periods in the game, but they had to wait till the 62nd minute for their opening goal.
Super Eagles hopeful Usor was brilliantly set up by a wonderful defense-splitting pass from Ivan Schranz, and the 20-year-old forward dispatched the ball with class, beating the Rakow goalkeeper Vladan Kovacevic. No further goals came in the game as both teams were inseparable with a 2-2 aggregate scoreline at full time.
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Just at the dying embers of the game, Olayinka stepped up, to assist Schranz to make it 2-1 and complete the comeback for the Czechs.
It was a wonderful evening for Samuel Chukwueze and his Villarreal side against Hajduk Split in Croatia. The yellow submarines won the first leg 4-2 last week and were favourites to progress at the expense of their hosts.
Despite the advantage, Unai Emery’s were brilliant on the night as they were rewarded with a first half goal from Alfonso Pedraza in the 36th minute.
The former Europa League champions duly got their second goal of the game through Chukwueze. The Nigerian forward, in his mesmerizing style, went past several opposition players before curling the ball into the net to double Villarreal’s lead.
In the end, it finished 6-2 on aggregate in favour of the Spanish side, and it help secure their spot in the group stage of this season’s Europa Conference League.