It was another action-packed weekend of football across the globe, with two Nigerian players, Abubakar Abdullahi and Jonathan Okoronkwo, right at the centre of the drama, leading the charge for their various teams.

In the Belgian Challenger Pro League, Abdullahi enjoyed a fantastic outing, scoring once and providing an assist to inspire Jong Gent to a dramatic comeback victory over Club Brugge NXT, Footballrover reports.

Abubakar Abdullahi inspires Jong Gent’s comeback win

Abdullahi’s stoppage-time strike proved to be the winner as Gent came from behind twice to edge their visitors 3–2 at the Planet Group Arena.

It initially looked like Club Brugge’s youngsters had the game under control when Nigerian midfielder Vince Osuji struck first in the 54th minute.

However, the match flipped on its head during a chaotic second half. Jassim Mazouz pulled Jong Gent level in the 64th minute, only for Kaye Furo to instantly restore the visitors’ lead just two minutes later.

Just when it seemed like Club NXT might edge it, Jong Gent found another gear. In the 75th minute, Victor Vandenbroucke made it 2–2 by finishing off a clever assist from Abdullahi—and the young forward wasn’t done yet.

Deep into stoppage time, Abdullahi turned from provider to hero, firing home in the 91st minute to complete the dramatic comeback and seal the 3–2 win.

Despite losing the most duels (12) in the match, the 20-year-old still found a way to decide the game.

The strike was his 10th goal of the season, taking his total goal contributions to 13 (with three assists) in 24 appearances.

He has now scored in two consecutive games for the Gent U23 side, following his goal against Lommel in their last outing.

While it was a bittersweet night for Osuji, whose goal wasn’t enough to rescue a point for the visitors, it was a dream outing for Abdullahi.

He is now Gent’s undisputed top scorer, sitting three goals ahead of second-placed Ruslan Vydysh.

The vital victory was enough to lift Jong Gent to 8th place in the table, with 40 points from 29 matches.

Okoronkwo fires Sivasspor to third straight win in Turkey 1. Liga

In the Turkish TFF First League, Okoronkwo was the hero of the day. He scored the only goal of the match to help his team, Sivasspor, secure a 1–0 away victory and all three points over Manisa FK.

The Round 32 clash saw the Nigerian forward find the back of the net just 30 minutes into the game.

The hosts were later forced to finish a man down after Christophe Hérelle received a red card.

Despite losing the most duels in the match (10), the 22-year-old forward still banged in his second goal for the club, taking his overall season tally to four goals and two assists in 15 appearances.

The result marks a third consecutive win for Sivasspor, pushing them up to 9th place in the table with 47 points.

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Last Updated on March 22, 2026 3:09 pm by footballrover