Aston Lukoye
Joseph Okumu played the whole match as Belgian side KAA Gent rallied from behind to earn a draw in the first leg of the Europa Conference League .
Speaking before the match, the Harambee Stars center back expressed confidence citing that his side had the capacity to match West Ham despite the English side playing in a highly-ranked league.
“I think the only advantage they (West Ham) have is they play in a league that is higher ranked than the Belgian league but we (KAA Gent) are professionals and can match up to any team.” He said.
True to his words, Gent did control the whole match from start to finish and were unlucky not to win. They had the lion’s share of the possession, created more chances, and had the most shots on goal.
However, they went down late in the first half after Danny Ings tapped in from close range from a Jarred Bowen cross.
KAA Gent equalized in the 57th minute after H. Cuyper came at the end of a well-executed move to slot home a beautiful goal.
Statistically, Okumu put on a solid performance that saw him make 8 clearances, blocked 1 shot on goal, made 1 clearance, and 1 tackle.
He engaged in 8 ground duels and won three out of the eight. Aerially, he won 3 duels of the three he made. Okumu also lost possession 19 times and was dribbled past twice. His defensive shift made him neutralize Michail Antonio, who was in red-hot form in the last match West Ham played in the Conference League.
Okumu was also impressive on the ball with a passing accuracy of 79%. He also attempted 15 long balls with 7 being successful and had one shot on goal that went off target.
His abilities on the ball were crucial in the build-up phase of his team enabling them to keep possession and execute attacks efficiently.
Gent will travel to London next week for the second leg of the tie.
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