Umar Sadiq Nets Another Winner For Almeria; Akintola Brilliant In The Super Liga

Only three days after scoring the winning goal to help Almeria claim all three points at Alcorcon, Nigerian forward Umar Sadiq was at it again, applying the decisive finish that powered his side to another league victory.

Umar Sadiq’s fine effort on the hour-mark was all Almeria needed to secure a 1-0 win over Real Zaragoza in a rescheduled matchday two at the Estadio de Los Juegos Mediterráneos on Wednesday evening.

The former Partizan Belgrade star was a handful for the visitors’ defenders all night, who did their best to keep him quiet for two-third of the game.

But there was no stopping the former AS Roma star who collected a brilliant pass from teammate João Carvalho and wriggled past his marker to turn the ball past Cristian Dario Álvarez in the Real Zaragoza goal.

It’s the 23-year-old striker’s fifth goal in 15 games for Almeria since joining from the Serbian top-flight in the summer.

The latest win lifts Almeria to third on the Segunda Division table with 32 points from 17 matches, just three points behind leaders.

Elsewhere in the Turkish Super Liga, Nigerian midfielder Babajide Akintola found the back of the net in Hatayspor’s excellent 3-0 thrashing of BB Erzurumspor at the Antakya Atatürk Stadı in Hatay. 

The 24-year-old midfield ace, who joined Murat Sönmez’s side on loan from Midtjylland in September, made it 3-nil for the home side moments before the hour-mark, putting a seal on Hatayspor’s first win in four games in all competitions.

Former Stoke City forward Mame Biram Diouf had opened the scoring for the hosts a few minutes to halftime before an Osman Çelik own goal shortly after the restart set Hatayspor on the path to a much-needed victory.

The win over Erzurumspor helps the Hatay-based club open a six-point gap on the relegation zone ahead of their crunch clash against high-flying Fatih Karagümrük at the weekend.