Super-sub Gopey scores as Inhulets Petrove hit FC Mariupol for three

Stephen Gopey was on target as Inhulets Petrove defeated FC Mariupol 3-0 in Saturday’s Ukrainian Premier League encounter.

With his team leading by two goals, the 21-year-old came off the bench to guarantee all three points for Serhiy Lavrynenko’s men inside the Inhulets Stadium.

Heading into the game, the hosts had gone on a run of two games without losing – with their last outing a 2-1 away victory at Lviv.

For the visitors – who finished 11th in the 2020-21 campaign – they had lost all their last four games so far in all competitions.

Inhulets got off to a flying start as they dominated ball possession while keeping Mariupol in their own half.

After several misses, they took the lead in the 22nd minute through Vladyslav Sharay.

Profiting from a poor clearance from defender Serhiy Chobotenko, the Ukrainian midfielder drilled a low shot past goalkeeper Oleg Kudryk.

Despite trailing by a lone goal, Ostap Markevych’s team could not find their way into the game as they were short of scoring opportunities.

Two minutes before the half-hour mark, Sharay completed his brace thanks to an assist from Hennos Asmelash. Left unmarked in the penalty area, he headed Asmelash’s pinpoint cross past the stranded goalkeeper.

Gopey – who was introduced for Artem Sitalo in the 56th minutes – ended the visitors’ ambition of a comeback with the third goal 14 minutes from full time.

The African star slotted the ball past Kudryk after he was teed up by Ilya Kovalenko who skipped past four of his markers.

With this strike, he now boasts two goals in the 2021-22 campaign.

Thanks to this result, Inhulets Petrove have now climbed to eighth on the league table with seven points from six matches.

For Mariupol, they remain at the base of the table with just one point from the same number of fixtures.

Due to his impressive displays at Nigeria Professional Football League side, Wiki Tourists – the youngster was signed by the Ukrainian elite division side on a three-year contract.

He would be hoping to add to his goal tally when Lavrynenko’s men travel to the Cultural Sports Complex Nika Stadium for their next outing against Oleksandria on September 10.