“We knew it was a difficult match” – Nigerian forward Okereke speaks on being Venezia’s match-winner

The former Nigerian youth international is only into his fourth month on loan in Italy but has been crucial to his side’s recent successes

Match winner David Okereke has admitted that Venezia suffered a lot to pick up all the three points at stake in their game week 13 clash away to Bologna on Sunday.

On the balance of play, Bologna were clearly the better of the two sides, with the hosts enjoying a larger percentage of the ball possession, winning 17 more corner kicks, and taking more shots overall.

But Okereke broke through to hand Venezia the lead on the hour mark, and the Winged Lion weathered the storm to secure their second away win of the season.

It is the second time in consecutive matches that the on-loan Club Brugge forward has led Venezia to victory, following his winner in the 3-2 defeat of Jose Mourinho’s Roma just before the last international break.

But the Bologna match was even more challenging than that Roma tie and, as Venezia manager Paolo Zanetti predicted before the game, a single goal decided the encounter.

“He (Zanetti) was right,” Okereke told DAZN, as per TuttoVeneziaSport.

“We knew it was a painful match. The ball arrived at the right time, and I was in the right place to score.”

The Okereke-inspired win lifts Venezia to 13th on the Serie A table with the Winged Lions boasting 15 points, a mere three points behind Bologna in ninth and three more points behind Roma in fifth.

Okereke, though, wants the newly-promoted side to focus on the task ahead a game at a time instead of getting ahead of themselves.

The 24-year-old added: “Game after game, we are growing. Then at the end of the season, we will see where we are.”

Okereke joined Venezia on loan from Club Brugge after failing to impress in Belgium. The former Spezia star is, however, finding his feet once again in Italy, having notched four Serie A goals and an assist in 12 appearances.