Nigerians abroad: Orban kicks off preseason in style; Babatunde, Omeje, Tahir hit the mark

Despite the major European leagues being on break, several other championships are still in full swing. Here, Soccernet.ng highlights the best performances from Nigerian stars.

In the Belarusian top division, Fanen Akyam opened the scoring for Belshina at the Stadyen Dynama, but the home team Dinamo Minsk roared back to claim a 7-2 victory.

In Finland, Balogun Adebowale had an incredible day for OTP in their 3-1 league win away at TP-47 in the Kakkonen. Adebowale netted the third goal for the visitors in the 82nd minute, only to be sent off for his second booking two minutes later.

Also in the Kakkonen, Owerri-born Jasper Chibueze Uwaegbulam was the match-winner for JBK as he scored both of his side’s goals in their 2-0 away victory over KRAFT.

Moving on to the Veikkausliiga, Peter Michael scored his second goal of the season to help VPS secure a commanding 3-0 win at home against Inter Turku.

In the Ykkönen, 20-year-old Adeleke Oluwatobi Babatunde netted the equalizer for MP, and Santeri Stenius added a hat trick to lead the visitors to a come-from-behind 4-2 victory away against KPV.

In Sweden, Chidi Omeje grabbed a brace, but it was not enough to help IFK Östersund avoid crashing out of the First Round of the Svenska Cupen, losing 5-3 to Lucksta after extra time. His compatriot, Sani Tahir, netted the fifth goal for the victorious Lucksta.

Earlier on Friday, Nigeria’s most valuable U-23 star, Gift Orban, was in the starting lineup for KAA Gent in their first preseason match of the summer. Orban played only the opening half and scored in the 37th minute as Gent took a three-nil lead over KFC Merelbeke into the halftime break.

Flying Eagles star Ahmed Abdullahi also found the back of the net for Gent in the second half as the four-time Belgian Cup winners ran out 9-1 victors away from home.