Gift Orban shines as Vanhaezebrouck’s men thrash Merelbeke

Nigeria’s duo of Gift Orban and Ahmed Abdullahi marked their return back after the holiday by netting in Gent’s big 1-9 win over amateur side Merelbeke in the club’s first game of pre-season, Soccernet.ng reports

The talented attacker, Orban, scored his only goal of the game in the 37th minute to double Gent’s advantage before the club ran out comfortably 3-0 in the first half.

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Orban raised his profile last season after making an impressive debut in Belgium, scoring 20 goals in just 22 appearances to help his club reach the last eight of the UEFA Conference League.

He became an overnight sensation last season after scoring an astonishing 3 goals in just 205 seconds of Gent’s round of 16 UEFA Conference League away tie against Istanbul Baseksehir, making him the holder of the fastest hat trick in Europe’s club competitions.

Nigeria U-20 striker, Abdullahi, was also available to make a scoring debut for the club’s team A, coming on as a second-half substitute before getting his goal in the 72nd minute of the pre-season win.

The 19-year-old had an outstanding time with Jong Gent last season, which earned him an invitation to the Nigeria U-20 camp.

Abdullahi forwent his salary for a month at the club to represent Nigeria at the last African U-20 Cup of Nations and hopes to get more opportunities with the club’s first team ahead of the new season.

Both Nigerian forwards would aim to make great strides for Gent in the coming season and also hope to be part of the national team setup for the coming years.