A shocking own goal by Nigerian goalkeeper Chijioke Aniagboso in Chornomorets Odesa’s 1-0 loss to Obolon Kyiv in the Ukrainian Premier League has drawn criticism from his own coach.
The 21-year-old goalkeeper, who had recently enjoyed a breakthrough with Chornomorets, sliced the ball directly into his net under minimal pressure, gifting the hosts all three points.
Aniagboso’s error sparked a scathing assessment from Chornomorets goalkeeping coach and former Ukraine international Yevhen Borovyk. “Not just this season. That was total bulls**t. Absolute nonsense,” Borovyk said in a post-match interview. “It was just a reflex – he saw the ball and lashed at it. Probably something like that.”
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Despite Aniagboso’s recent misstep, Borovyk dismissed speculation about replacing the club’s first-choice keeper. When asked if head coach Oleksandr Kucher had sought his input on a change, Borovyk replied, “No.” The coach also jokingly dismissed the idea of coming out of retirement to provide stability in goal, stating, “I’m done with football. I’m not the slightest bit interested in that anymore.”
Aniagboso’s blunder came just weeks after he recorded his first professional clean sheet in a vital 1-0 win over LNZ Cherkasy on April 5. The result ended Chornomorets’ 13-match winless streak and lifted them off the bottom of the table. A product of Nigeria’s youth system, Aniagboso has shown promise in his young career.
The young goalkeeper was the Flying Eagles’ No. 1 at the 2023 U20 Africa Cup of Nations, where he kept four clean sheets in five matches and helped Nigeria to a third-place finish. He also starred at the U20 World Cup in Argentina, notably shutting out both Italy and the host nation before a narrow quarter-final exit to South Korea.
Despite his recent error, Aniagboso remains one of Nigeria’s most promising goalkeeping prospects. After his mistake, he was again named in the starting lineup for Chornomorets’ 2-1 loss at Veres Rivne on April 20th.
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However, last weekend, the young Nigerian shot-stopper was included among the substitutes as Chornomorets suffered another 2-1 league defeat, this time at home, against Rukh Vynnyky.
Chornomorets currently face a daunting task, needing to win their last four league games to stand a chance of avoiding relegation from the Ukrainian top flight.
