Etebo celebrates first Laliga goal

NIGERIAN midfielder, Oghenekaro Etebo has expressed delight at scoring his first-ever goal for Getafe in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Eibar at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez.

Etebo scored the game’s first goal in the 30th minute slotting home off an Angel Rodriguez’s assist.

Eibar’s Charles Dias equalised just before the half-time whistle with a header after Sergi Enrich knocked the ball into his path.

Before then, Getafe had been winless since the restart of LaLiga, with their last outing a goalless draw at home to Espanyol.

“Happy to get my first Getafe goal. Heads up lads,” Etebo posted on Instagram.

Etebo played 69 minutes, produced 41 touches on the ball, and 16 accurate passes (64%) with one shot on and off-target.

It was Etebo’s ninth league appearance for Getafe since his arrival in January on loan from English Championship side, Stoke City. He has played in every game bar against Athletic Bilbao and Valencia, in which he had a knock and was unfit to make the matchday squad.

Of the nine outings, six have been starts.

Saturday’s strike was Etebo’s first-ever in Spain as he had previously played for Las Palmas on loan from Portuguese side Feirense. He was also a January loan signing and made a total of 14 appearances.

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He became the 21st Nigerian to score in the Spanish top-flight, joining an illustrious list that contains the likes of Ikechukwu Uche, Finidi George, Mutiu Adepoju, Odion Ighalo, Obafemi Martins and Rashidi Yekini.

Getafe’s draw with Eibar means they were unable to close the gap to fourth-place Sevilla, who drew with Barcelona at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on Friday night. The gap now stands at four points.

Jose Bordalas’ side is now unbeaten in their last four La Liga matches, drawing three and losing one. Their last victory came in a 1-0 win Mallorca on March 1, a week before the league was suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Their next assignment is an away trip to Real Valladolid on Tuesday.