Saving penalties is fun for Ejiogu

By Ifeanyi Ibeh


A penalty shootout is a nasty way to end a football game. Though it remains the only acceptable means through which a deadlocked match can be decided.

There are three possible outcomes in a penalty shootout: getting the ball past the goalkeeper and into the net, missing the net entirely or, even more embarrassing, playing the ball right into the path of the goalkeeper.

The latter is any goalkeeper's dream, for that is what remains indelibly etched in the memories of those who were privileged to witness the penalty-saving heroics.

Fame from the spot

One goalkeeper who has become famous for stopping shots from the "charity spot" is Chijioke Ejiogu, who last weekend was Enyimba's saving grace as they defeated visiting DR Congo side Vita FC 6-5, after a pulsating penalty shootout.

The two-legged tie had ended 3-3 on aggregate, but after Nnaemeka Anyanwu fluffed his penalty kick to hand the advantage to the visitors, it was left to Ejiogu, also known as ‘Arugo monkey' to save the day for Enyimba, as he stopped two spot kicks to put his side through to the mini-league stage of the CAF Champions League.

"I don't do any special training for it; saving penalties comes naturally for me. It's fun," said Ejiogu, who came to national prominence in 1999 after leading unheralded grassroots club, FC Arugo, to the semi-finals of the Nigerian FA Cup.

"It is something I enjoy doing and I hope to keep doing it for as long as I can play," added the former Dolphins of Port Harcourt shot stopper in a telephone chat with NEXTSports.