Guangzhou (China), July 16 (IANS) Nigerian striker Yakubu Aiyegbeni scored a winning goal in his Chinese super league (CSL) debut, giving Guangzhou R&F a crucial derby win over league leaders Guangzhou Evergrande.
“I am very happy to score, It is a beautiful game for me, the atmosphere is fine and I like it,” Yakubu said after the match Sunday.
“I was full of confidence in the match. Thanks to my coach and teammates, they gave me the ultimate support,” he added.
Yakubu headed the ball into the net with only three minutes to go in the second half, giving the league leaders their first home defeat in CSL this season, reports Xinhua.
“Yakubu played a key role for us in tonight’s game as he posed constant threat to the opponents box,” Guangzhou R&F coach Sergio Farias praised the Nigerian after the match.
Not as famous as Shanghai Shenhua’s new signing Didier Drogba, Yakubu has been a scoring machine in the English Premier League and Nigerian national team. He scored 114 goals in 10 years in the English league since he joined Portsmouth in 2002. He has been a regular for the Nigerian national team since 2000 and scored 21 goals in 54 caps.
“I believe Yakubu is the one we need most. He has a good reputation and his ability has been tested in the world’s most competitive league,”Guangzhou R&F’s vice president Lu Yi said upon the acquisition of the Nigerian.
Yakubu scored from a header right above Yang Jun in the 87th minute. The controversial goal triggered the anger of the home side, who believed the Nigerian committed a foul on the goal keeper before he made the header.
“The game was decided by an incident, but I will not make any comments on the referee,” Evergrande coach Marcello Lippi said after the match.
