It was not the kind of homecoming Nigerian strikers Tolu Arokodare and Victor Boniface had hoped for, as both endured losing debuts on their respective home turfs over the weekend.
At Molineux, Arokodare’s first Premier League outing in front of Wolverhampton Wanderers’ faithful turned sour. The forward, who only arrived from Belgian side Genk on transfer deadline day, started the game but couldn’t spark a revival as Wolves fell 3-1 to Leeds United. The result stretched Wolves’ miserable run to five straight defeats, leaving them anchored to the foot of the league without a single point.
In the Bundesliga, Boniface fared no better. Coming on after the break for Werder Bremen, the striker was unable to shift the momentum as Freiburg ran out 3-0 winners. His teammate Felix Agu played the entire match, but Bremen looked second-best throughout and remain stuck on four points after four rounds of fixtures.
Elsewhere across Europe, Saturday brought little cheer for other Super Eagles representatives. Crystal Palace picked up a 2-1 away win against West Ham thanks to goals from Jean-Philippe Mateta and Tyrick Mitchell, but youngster Christantus Uche was left unused on the bench, still waiting for his first competitive minutes.
Nottingham Forest also had no Nigerian presence in their 1-1 draw at Burnley. Forward Taiwo Awoniyi was left out of the squad, having slipped down the pecking order, while Ola Aina is sidelined until December following surgery on an injury sustained during international duty.
Over in Germany, Kevin Akpoguma was a late arrival in Hoffenheim’s heavy 4-1 defeat to Bayern Munich. By the time the defender was introduced in the 83rd minute, Harry Kane had already helped himself to a hat-trick, including two goals from the penalty spot, leaving Hoffenheim with little more than pride to play for.
Next week poses another stern test for Boniface and Agu as Bremen travel to reigning champions Bayern Munich, a trip that promises to be one of their toughest challenges of the season.
