Who is efan ekoku

However, in the case of Ekoku, it is enough to simply acknowledge him as a Nigerian pioneer. While he was never as prolific as the truly elite, he was a man for big moments who knew his way to goal. In all, he played over matches in English league football, and scored goals. That his playing career is somewhat forgotten now is no doubt a legacy of the relatively modest level of club he played for. It is a low tally, granted. It is even less of a slight on Ekoku when one considers that Richard Owubokiri, a legend at Portuguese club Boavista who averaged under a goal every other game in just under 50 appearances, barely got a look-in.

Nevertheless, he is remembered with fondness by fans at Carrow Road, even if not in the streets of Lagos—in , he was inducted into the Norwich City Hall of Fame. However, the Toffees had some positives to draw on too. They had won the Merseyside derby against Liverpool the previous weekend and were quietly optimistic of a result against Norwich.

That quiet optimism would turn to faint hope in the early stages of the match. A long ball lobbed over the top caught the Norwich defence napping, and Paul Rideout slotted him to give the home side the lead.

Everton fans were ecstatic, and the side looked likely to enter the half-time break with the lead. However, Efan Ekoku scored the equaliser in the 44th minute. He was played through the defence but looked to have run the ball too wide for a shot. A cross seemed a better option from his angle but, with no options in the box, he went for a slashed shot across the goal. The ball beat the goalkeeper and bulged into the back of the net. Norwich had equalised at a time which, according to conventional wisdom, can have a devastating effect on the team that concedes.

As such, for the early parts of the second half, it was Norwich who seemed likelier to score. Since then the door to Premier League opened for him. Ekoku managed to score three goals in total ten games although the team Norwich was defeated by the Manchester United. He again scored four goals defeating Everton at Goodison Park. He became the first player to score more than three goals in a Premier League game. In that he played a total of 27 league games scoring in 12 games.

During seasons he scored seven goals. In the seasons, the club ranked eighth and was a semi-finalist in both of the domestic cups.

His first season in Switzerland was successful as he played 21 games scoring 16 goals. On 20 October , he returned to England on a free transfer to Sheffield. He then arrived at Hillsborough. In , he announced his retirement. He remains the most expensive player ever sold by non-league team Sutton United.