Okoye's Mistake Leads to Udinese's Fourth Loss in a Row

Nigeria goalkeeper Maduka Okoye made a big mistake that cost Udinese in their fourth straight defeat. They lost 2-1 to Torino in the Italian Serie A on Monday.

Okoye’s error allowed substitute Sandro Kulenovic to score the winning goal in the 67th minute. This came after Udinese had fought hard to equalize earlier in the match.

Torino took the lead first with Daniel Bragança scoring in the 36th minute. Jurgen Ekkelenkamp then equalized for Udinese just seven minutes later.

But Okoye messed up when he tried to clear the ball. He collided with teammate Nicolo Bertola, which left Kulenovic with an open goal to put Torino back in front.

Udinese coach Kosta Runjaic compared this mistake to a previous one that led to their loss against Cagliari before the international break. He also took some responsibility for the team’s current troubles.

“We lost because of a big mistake, like against Cagliari. As head coach, I’m responsible too. It was a lack of communication and perception, and with mistakes like these you end up losing games,” Runjaic said, according to Football Italia, which quoted TuttoMercatoWeb.

The coach was not happy with how few chances his team created. He pointed out that Torino’s first goal also came from a set piece.

“We didn’t score or create many chances. The defensive error is costly, but Torino’s first goal also came from a set piece. Congratulations to Torino,” he said.

Runjaic plans to keep the team together despite their bad run of results. He wants to keep morale high among the players.

“I’ll try to keep the team united and morale high. In the end, the result is that we lost, and we have to get through this moment by encouraging one another,” he said.

After this defeat, Udinese has just four points from six league matches, having lost four in a row.

Despite the loss, Runjaic praised defender Oumar Solet and goalscorer Ekkelenkamp. He also hopes that injured players will return soon to help the team.