French Ligue 1 side Nice rounded up their preparation for the start of a new season in Ligue 1 on a low by losing 0-1 to newly promoted English Premier League side Ipswich Town, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Fresh from winning their first game of pre season 3-2 against Italian side Lecce, Nice started the game on the front foot and had chances to take the lead, which they failed to convert and it proved costly in the second half.
Totally against the run of play , Ipswich scored what ended as the match winner via a goal mouth scramble leaving coach of the French side Franck Haise disappointed, but he was however pleased with the contribution of relatively unknown Nigerian forward Victor Orakpo.
Orakpo was signed six months ago and immediately hit the ground running for the B team leading to his inclusion in the first team pre season training camp. He was made an official member of the first team following the unfortunate injury to his fellow Nigerian Terem Moffi.
Moffi ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament and will be out for the rest of next season, and rather than go out and sign a replacement Haise handed the spot to Orakpo, a stunning rise for the Nigerian who only arrived in France six months ago.
Haise has all reasons to be excited Orakpo stole the show in a 30 minutes game played among the players, who didn’t get enough time in the game proper against Ipswich. He scored the only goal of the game with a firm header.
“At the end of the 90 minutes, part of the contingent of the two teams “extended” for half an hour, with a rejuvenated team on the #OGCNice side. This 30 minutes ended with the score 1-0 for the Gym, thanks to a header from Orakpo on a cross from Brahimi”, a statement on the club’s social media handle reads.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
