Gift Orban continued his fantastic goalscoring form of late, this time finding the back of the net in Gent’s 1-1 draw with Turkish side Istanbul Basaksehir in the the first leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League Round of 16 on Thursday night.
The Buffalos had to navigate past Azerbaijani giants Qarabag in the knockout playoffs, winning 5-3 on penalties after the game ended 1-1 on aggregate, both teams winning 1-0 at home over the two legs and Orban getting the goal for the Belgians.
The 20-year-old Nigerian was in the mood to score again but Gent first fell behind at the Ghelamco Arena in the 16th minute when Italian-Nigerian striker Stefano Okaka sent a fine header in.
Gent responded back 10 minutes to the halftime break thanks to Orban who tapped in from close range after Istanbul goalkeeper Volkan Babacan parried the ball into his path for a simple tap in.
It was Orban’s fifth goal for Gent in just his seventh appearance for the club since signing in the winter from Norwegian top-flight outfit Stabaek Fotball.
5️⃣ goals in 7️⃣ games this season for 20-year old Gift Orban ✨#UECL pic.twitter.com/6nev1umTLv
— UEFA Europa Conference League (@europacnfleague) March 9, 2023
Other Nigerians were in the thick of the action in the Europa Conference League on Thursday night. Samuel Chukwueze provided an assist for Manuel Trigueros’ goal in Villarreal’s 1-1 draw with Anderlecht.
Terem Moffi played from start to finish as OGC Nice claimed a 1-0 away win at FC Sheriff of Moldova while Nigeria captain Ahmed Musa was an unused substitute as 10-man Sivasspor lost 1-0 at Italian Serie A outfit Fiorentina.
