Maduka Okoye explains what stood out in Udinese’s draw with Como

Super Eagles and Udinese goalkeeper Maduka Okoye has revealed what was different in his side’s 1-1 draw with Como in their opening Serie A game of the season, Soccernet.ng reports.

The Friulians picked up a valuable point in front of their home fans as they look to build on their top-half finish from last season.

The draw was Udinese’s second competitive game of the campaign after they defeated Padova 1-0 in the Coppa Italia Round of 64 last weekend. That victory set up a Round of 32 meeting with Venezia, who defeated Modena 3-2 after an inspiring display from Super Eagles striker Akor Adams, who scored twice and set up one other.

Udinese took the lead inside the opening half-hour when Hassane Kamara ran onto Jürgen Ekkelenkamp’s pass, before chipping the ball over Jean Butez into an empty net.

However, Como found an equaliser after the break. Okoye initially denied Trevoh Chalobah with a fine save from his header, but he could do nothing to prevent Tasos Douvikas from following up and finding the back of the net.

What Maduka Okoye said after Udinese vs Como clash

Maduka Okoye continued from where he left off last season with an impressive man-of-the-match display that helped Udinese secure a valuable point.

The Super Eagles goalkeeper made five crucial saves during the game, including a stunning stop to deny Douvikas from putting Como ahead shortly after they had equalised.

Reflecting on the match, Okoye praised his teammates for their performance and revealed that the support from the Udinese fans was one of the things that stood out to him.

“It's an important point, we played against a strong team and we are happy. We entered the field to win, but in the end a point is fine”, the Super Eagles goalkeeper said, via Udinese official website.

“I'm glad to help the team with my saves, but it's the team that played a great game today. We are all happy.

“Starting over at home in front of our fans is beautiful, they helped us a lot. They are very important to us, we are grateful to have fans like that.”

Udinese will return to action next weekend when they travel to face Monza, hoping to build on their impressive result against Como.

Okoye will also be looking to maintain his fine form and produce another strong performance as Udinese continue their Serie A campaign.