One of the Nigerian-born players in the Arsenal U-21 team on Tuesday night turned to be the hero as the Young Gunners kick-started their campaign for the EFL Trophy on a winning note.
The Young Gunners came from behind to beat Ipswich Town 2-1 away from home and it was Folarin Balogun that got the match-winner for the Gunners in Tuesday’s tie.
The Arsenal U21s started on a shaky note as they were punished for slack defending in the 25th minute when Jon Nolan converted Alan Judge’s cross inside the area.
However, against the run of play, the Young Gunners clawed their way back before proceedings in the first half were completed.
George Lewis who was making his debut for the Arsenal U21s found space inside the area and fired into the bottom corner as the first half ended in a stalemate.
The Arsenal U21s came out stronger for the second half and less than 10 minutes into the second 45 minutes they shot into the lead with Balogun getting what turned to be the winning goal.
Balogun received a defense-splitting pass from Ben Cottrell and he raced through on goal before calmly slotting in the ball.
Even though Ipswich dominated the latter exchanges, the Arsenal U21s held their own to steal the narrow victory.
The Arsenal squad for Tuesday’s tie was dominated with players of Nigerian descent; with five starting and two coming from the bench
The next tie for the Arsenal U21s in the EFL Trophy race is against Crawley Town on October 13.
