Nigeria Players Abroad
Ligue 1: Moses Simon inspires Nantes comeback victory in eight-goal thriller
By Wale Mustapha
Nigerian winger Moses Simon produced another man of the match performance as he aided Nantes to 5-3 comeback win over Lorient in the French Ligue 1 encounter on Saturday.
Simon who ended his over a year goal drought with the Canaries against Clermont was at the center of all major actions yet again with a goal and two assists as the hosts rallied to secured their second win in 12 home league games.
It was Lorient who showed more purpose in the match with sixth minute goal when 17-year-old El Junior Kroupi headed home his first senior goal off a deft cross from Vincent Le Goff.
The goal revived Nantes from their slumber and they looked more determined from then on.
They were rewarded for their consistent pressing with the 42nd minute equalizer with Simon the architect with his cross reaching Matthis Abline to curl home perfectly.
Nantes built on their pressure straight away in the second half and took the lead inside the opening minute, as Eray Cömert headed home from a Florent Mollet corner.
Egyptian forward Mostafa Mohamed scored a superb free-kick – his fifth goal in just six Ligue 1 matches to increase Nantes’ lead to 3-1.
Lorient pulled a goal back through Romain Faivre with quarter of an hour see out the game following a terrible clearance by Canaries keeper Rémy Descamps.
Moses Simon would soon lead Nantes to another round of onslaught as his second assist of the match was finished well by Mollet leaving the scoreline 4-2.
It was an evening meant for Nigerian boys as little known Aiyegun Tosin put Lorient back on the score sheet with a simple tap in following another team move from the visitors.
Simon capped the day with his goal of the match as he converted a stoppage time penalty to add gloss to the scoreline.
The victory takes Nantes to sixth on the French Ligue 1 log with eight points from six matches, while Lorient are in 14th with six points in six games.
