Tolu Arokodare made the most of his first start for Ajax, while Cyriel Dessers produced a late moment of drama as several Nigerian players were involved in important UEFA playoff games on Thursday, Footynaija reports.
Arokodare was one of the main players in Ajax’s 5-3 win over Swiss club Sion. The Dutch side advanced 9-5 on aggregate and secured a place in the Conference League league phase.
The Nigerian striker scored just before half-time and struck again six minutes after the break. His two goals helped Ajax recover from a game in which Sion scored three times.
It was a strong first start for Arokodare, who gave Ajax a major threat in attack. His performance could also increase competition for places in the club’s forward line.
Dessers had a different route to his two goals. The Nigerian-born striker started on the bench for Panathinaikos but came on in the 56th minute against Hradec Králové.
He needed only 16 minutes to make an impact. Dessers scored in the 72nd minute to put Panathinaikos ahead in the tie.
The game then went into extra time, with the score still level on aggregate. Panathinaikos were awarded a penalty in the final moments, and Dessers stepped up to score in the 120th minute.
His second goal gave the Greek club a 2-1 win on the night and a 4-3 aggregate victory. Panathinaikos will now play in the Conference League league phase.
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Yusuf Bamidele also found the net as Ferencváros produced one of the night’s most convincing results. The Hungarian champions beat Paul Onuachu’s Trabzonspor 4-0 and completed a 5-0 aggregate victory.
Bamidele played for 70 minutes as the main striker before he was replaced. He scored from the penalty spot in the 59th minute to help his team strengthen its control of the game.
For Onuachu, the night ended in disappointment. The Trabzonspor striker started the match but had few chances as Ferencváros controlled the game.
He was substituted at half-time, with Trabzonspor already facing a difficult task. The Turkish side could not recover and were knocked out of the Europa League.
The results gave Arokodare, Dessers and Bamidele reasons to celebrate, while Onuachu was left to reflect on a difficult European exit.
