Nigerian goalkeeper Jonathan Ayola Rasheed put in a valiant effort, but it wasn’t enough to save his side IFK Varnamo from a tough home defeat against IK Sirius.

Rasheed, who started in goal for Varnamo, made three crucial saves and completed 80% of his passes. However, his team’s defence was ultimately breached, resulting in a disappointing 4-2 defeat, Footballrover reports.

Despite Rasheed’s best efforts, Varnamo struggled to regain their footing after recovering from a 2-0 deficit. IK Sirius capitalised on this to secure all three points in their matchday 17 Allsvenskan encounter.

The match, witnessed by just one thousand fans at the 5,000-capacity Finnvedsvallen stadium, saw the visiting team take an early lead.

Finland midfielder Leo Walta gave the visitors the lead barely ten minutes into the game.

Joakim Persson doubled their advantage sixteen minutes later, sending them into the halftime break with a 2-0 lead.

Six minutes after the restart, the home team pulled one back through Michael Steinwender, but Simon Thern restored parity twelve minutes later.

However, IFK Varnamo’s hopes were dashed as the visiting IK Sirius quickly regained the lead through Joakim Persson.

Leo Walta then sealed the 4-2 win for the away side with his second goal, six minutes before the end of normal time.

Despite conceding four goals, Rasheed can nonetheless hold his head high, knowing he did everything possible to prevent the crushing defeat.

Jonathan Rasheed and his teammates are now without a win in their last four matches, leaving them in the relegation zone, 14th in the 16-team table with 18 points.

The 32-year-old Nigerian goalkeeper will be looking to bounce back in the next match as Varnamo aims to get their season back on track when they visit Goteborg on Saturday.

Like this post?
We’d be delighted to hear from you. Please leave a comment in the box below!