Nigerian forward Taofeek Ismaheel, 24, made his mark in the Polish Ekstraklasa, delivering both a goal and an assist for Gornik Zabrze in their thrilling but ultimately heartbreaking away clash against Cracovia.
Despite his standout performance, Gornik couldn’t avoid a narrow defeat on matchday six, Footballrover reports.
Ismaheel was the star of the show, lighting up the pitch with a man-of-the-match display that, unfortunately, couldn’t save his team from a disappointing 3-2 loss.
Gornik Zabrze, coming off a goalless draw against Raków in their previous match, were desperate to get back to winning ways.
But fate had other plans at the Stadion Cracovii.
The game started with a bang as Ismaheel set up Damian Rasak to break the deadlock just 20 minutes in, putting Gornik ahead.
However, their joy was shortlived as Cracovia responded swiftly, equalising through Filip Rozga just six minutes later.
Undeterred, Ismaheel turned from provider to scorer 12 minutes before halftime, restoring Gornik’s lead with a clinical finish that gave them a 2-1 advantage.
The second half began with controversy as Cracovia appeared to equalise again, only for VAR to step in and rule the goal offside.
The match took a turn for the worse for Gornik in the 57th minute when Rafal Janicki was shown a straight red card, reducing them to ten men.
Just a minute later, despite his heroic efforts, Ismaheel was subbed off for Norbert Wojtuszek.
Cracovia, smelling blood, capitalised on Gornik’s misfortune.
Substitute Ajdin Hasic brought the home side level again, and the chaos continued as Gornik’s Manuel Sanchez inadvertently turned the ball into his own net, handing Cracovia a 3-2 lead.
The drama escalated from there when second-half substitute Kryspin Szczesniak received another straight red card, leaving Gornik with just nine players on the field.
In the end, it was too much for Gornik to overcome, and the match ended 3-2 in favour of Cracovia.
Ismaheel and his teammates will now regroup and look to bounce back when they host Lechia Gdańsk at the Stadion im. Ernesta Pohla on Sunday, eager to right the wrongs and return to winning ways.
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