Ndidi, Iheanacho, Aribo begin life in Championship
Ndidi, Iheanacho, Aribo begin life in Championship
Wilfred Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho were in action for Leicester City in their 2-1 victory over Coventry City as the former Premier League champions began life in the Championship at the King Power Stadium on Sunday.
Under new manager Enzo Maresca, Ndidi was named in the starting line up of the club’s first game back in the English second-tier after nine years and was replaced with Dennis Praet in the 62nd minute, while Iheanacho came on to replace Jarmie Vardy with 15 minutes left on the clock.
Leicester fought back from behind to record a 2-1 victory over last season’s playoff runners-up Coventry with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall getting both goals late on in the game.
Coventry took the lead just two minutes after the restart through Kyle Mcfadzean before Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall responded for Leic=ester in the 77th minute.
Dewsbury scored his second of the match with three minutes left and handed Maresca’s side their first win of the season.
Both Ndidi and Iheanacho have been linked with moves away from the Foxes since their relegation to the Championship, but the Super Eagles stars look set to embrace the challenge of helping the club return to the topflight next season.
Leicester City occupy sixth place in the league table and will face Burton Albion in the EFL Cup in their next match on Wednesday.
In the other matches that involved Nigerian players on Saturday, Tom Dele-Bashiru took only 33 seconds to raise the curtain for Watford in their 4-0 win over QPR at Vicarage Road.
The 23-year-old Nigerian forward etched his name in history books by scoring the earliest league goal for Watford since November 2016.
Dele-Bashiru’s blistering start set the tone for an impressive first-half performance from the Hornets, who wasted no time asserting their dominance as Imran Louza, Matheus Martins, and Vakoun Bayo all scored before the half-time whistle.
Semi Ajayi featured in West Brom’s 2-1 defeat at Blackburn Rovers, but new signing Josh Maja is still waiting for his debut after being left out of the Baggies’ squad.
Elsewhere on Friday, Joe Aribo, came on in the 89th minute as Southampton also claimed a 2-1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday away from home at the Hillsborough Stadium.
The visitors took an early lead when Nathan Tella cut in from the right and unleashed a fine left-footed shot from the edge of the area while Lee Gregory smashed home the equaliser for Wednesday after a corner was headed back across goal.
It looked set to fizzle out to a draw before Saints skipper James Ward-Prowse, making his first league appearance below the top flight, set up Che Adams to convert from close range and give Russell Martin a win in his first league game in charge.
