Head coach of Dutch side Ajax John van’t Schip has praised Chuba Akpom for his brace in their 3-1 win over Greek side AEK Athens in their final group game of the Europa League.
Akpom who could easily have scored a hattrick in the game found the back of the net in the 5th minute but the Greek side leveled later through Levi Garcia six minutes later.
Kenneth Taylor restored their lead nine minutes later, a lead they held until the half time break. In the 56th minute Akpom grabbed his second and his team’s third of the game to put scores at 3-1.
A win which sealed their spot in the knock out round of the Europa Conference League as they finished third, avoiding an exit from European football totally this season.
Speaking after the game Schip said Akpom has really settled down to his new surroundings and his run in front of goal, where he has five league goals from 11 games all coming in his last seven games is a testament. He also has three goals in the Europa League this season.
Listed in the provisional list of players by the head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro for the Africa Cup of Nations, his coach feels he can only get better from where he is now.
” You see he (Akpom) now feels more confident in front of goal and also more at home with the language, culture and people at the club. He can only get better and we will see his best version soon”, he said in quotes made available through the Dutch media.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
