Gift Orban’s late brace secures dramatic Verona victory over Fiorentina
Nigeria’s Gift Orban delivered a sensational performance off the bench to fire Hellas Verona to a thrilling 2–1 Serie A victory over Fiorentina on Sunday, Nigeriasoccernet.com reports.
The match took a dramatic turn in the 34th minute when Verona’s Giovane suffered an ankle injury after landing awkwardly from a header. Orban was introduced as his replacement, and he wasted no time making an impact.
In the 42nd minute, Orban opened the scoring with a composed finish after a perfect through ball from Al-Musrati caught Fiorentina’s Luca Ranieri flat-footed, slotting past goalkeeper David De Gea.
Fiorentina battled back and equalised in the 69th minute when Moise Kean fired a shot that Verona goalkeeper Lorenzo Montipò saved, only for the rebound to deflect off Nuñez and cross the line.
With the match seemingly heading for a draw, Orban struck again in stoppage time. In the 93rd minute, Bernède cut the ball back from the byline, and Orban finished at the near post, sending the ball past De Gea. Fiorentina protested, claiming the ball had gone out, but VAR upheld the goal giving Verona a dramatic late win.
The brace ended Orban’s six-game goal drought since October 26 and took his season tally to five goal contributions in 12 appearances. His decisive performance earned him Man of the Match honours.
Uche Dozie
Comments
This article has 0 comment(s) , give your comment