Udinese goalkeeper Maduka Okoye expressed relief at finally stopping a penalty, but was disappointed with the overall outcome as his side suffered a 3-0 home defeat to Bologna on Saturday, SportPremi reports.
The Nigerian goalkeeper had previously revealed his desire to improve on his penalty saving skills after conceding another spot-kick in the 2-0 defeat to AS Roma before the international break.
This time around, he saved Riccardo Orsolini’s first half effort from 12 yards, but could not prevent his side from defeat at the Bluenergy Stadium.
Despite the loss, they remain 10th on the Serie A standings, but could drop below that position when action is concluded in the match-day.
Bologna, on the other hand, move into the top three and level on points with second-placed Inter Milan, who play host to AC Milan in the Milan derby on Sunday.
Okoye saves penalty but concedes three times in second half
Udinese headed into the clash hoping to return to winning ways after their defeat to AS Roma in their previous encounter.
Bologna, meanwhile, defeated defending champions 2-0 in their last outing and were one of the most in-form teams in the league.
The visitors started the game strongly and wasted several chances to take the lead in a frantic first half.
They were awarded a penalty by the Video Assistant Referee after a foul on Tommaso Pobega by Kingsley Ehizibue.
Riccardo Orsolini stepped up but was thwarted by Okoye, who produced a magnificent save to keep the scoreline level.
Orsolini was then denied by Okoye once more, before he scored a goal that was ruled out for offside, as both sides went into the break level.
Bologna started the second half in similar fashion to the first and got their deserved lead through Pobega, who finished off a pass from Orsolini.
Okoye was at fault for the second, giving the ball away before Pobega grabbed his second of the game to put his side 2-0 ahead.
Federico Bernardeschi added a third in stoppage-time as Bologna condemned the home side to a second successive defeat.
What Okoye said
Speaking after the clash, the Super Eagles goalkeeper called for improvement in his side’s defensive showing.
“I’m happy with the penalty saved, but not with the match, which we started well anyway.
That’s football: I saved a penalty but then I made a mistake on the second goal. We need to move forward and analyze the good and bad things we did today”, the Nigerian goalkeeper said.
“Are we the worst defense? We often take risks; that’s our football. We win, but we also lose like that. We need to improve defensively, myself first.
“Mistakes are part of the game, but we need to reduce them. It’s important to learn from these mistakes”, he continued.
“In football, the most important thing is the result, but we also want to play well. We need to stay united and focus on the next match.”
Udinese will return to action next weekend when they head to Parma hoping to end their losing streak.
