Penalty miss: Juventus star refuses to blame Nigerian striker for defeat to Caen

The Unicorns suffered their second league loss of the season at Caen, with the young Nigerian forward failing to inspire his teammates

Juventus forward Ange Chibozo has refused to point accusing fingers at Toluwalase Arokodare after Amiens SC’s disappointing outing at the weekend.

Former Nigeria youth international Tolu Arokodare was the villain for Amiens SC in their 3-1 defeat away to Caen on Saturday in a French Ligue 2 matchday eight fixture.

Before the encounter, Arokodare was in excellent form, scoring a club-leading four goals and leading Amiens to four wins and two draws in seven games.

And the 21-year-old striker had the chance to open the scoring for Philippe Hinschberger’s men two minutes before the break when the referee awarded the visitors a penalty kick.

But, having stepped up confidently to take the spot-kick, the former FC Cologne loanee fluffed his lines.

Caen took advantage to bounce back after the interval and score three goals in 25 minutes. Arokodare was substituted just past the hour mark.

The introduction of Ange Chibozo, on loan from Juventus, helped Amiens finish the encounter stronger, but the Unicorns could only pull one goal back.

Speaking after the match, Chibozo was asked if the penalty miss was the turning point of the game.

But the Benin international forward maintains that Amiens’ second loss of the campaign depended on more than Arokodare’s missed spot-kick.

“No, a match does not depend on a penalty,” Chibozo said.

“The penalty is an event in a match that lasted 90 minutes. Mentally, it can change things because you have the opportunity to open the scoring and take the lead.

“Now, you can’t blame a player for missing a penalty; it’s part of the game. Tolu has already had the courage to shoot it. You don’t have to blame him.”

Arokodare is in the second half of his two-year loan at Ligue 2 side Amiens SC from Latvian club Valmiera.