Nigeria’s newly cleared England-based goalkeeper, Arthur Okonkwo gained plaudits from his coach at Wrexham, following his superb performance in a 1-0 win away to Charlton Athletic in the English Championship.
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Sports247 reports that it was the 10th clean sheet for Okonkwo, who was last week cleared to feature for Nigeria at full senior level and has received a strong tip to be part of the Super Eagles’ next roster.
Saturday brought another surge for the former Arsenal of England youth team shot-stopper, as he was praised by his coach, Phil Parkinson, who reckoned that Wrexham would have been on the receiving end without Okonkwo in goal.
Parkinson applauded Okonkwo and all his players for putting up a resilient fight at The Valley, where a decisive goal by recent signing, Oliver Rathbone, wormed through a crowded area to give Wrexham maximum points.
However, after the goal, Wrexham had to defend stoutly all the way, as Charlton applied sustained pressure in search of an equaliser, and Okonkwo was at his very best to help his side preserve their slender advantage.
The biggest moment of the game came in the 90th minute, as Wrexham needed yet another brilliant save from Okonkwo to deny Sonny Carey and the youngster helped his side extend their unbeaten away run to a sixth game.
Match highlights from various media outlets singled out Okonkwo, who was at his best, often found stretching at full length and making top quality dives when it mattered, with vital saves to protect Wrexham’s result.
Parkinson noted, “Arthur made a save from their first shot on target – but what a save it was. We know Carey is lethal from those situations. He has hit it low and hard, through legs, and Arthur has produced a match-winning save.”
Sports247 adds that Okonkwo will be expected to excel even better during next weekend’s FA Cup fifth-round visit by Chelsea, after which his in-form team will also welcome Semi Ajayi’s fifth-placed Hull City.
