Dundalk Delight After Okirikpo Made Olympic Eagles Team

Dundalk Delight After Okirikpo Made Olympic Eagles Team

Ibraheem Lateef Ayodele

Dundalk manager Tiarnan Mulvenna has expressed his delight for Hezekiah Okirikpo, who was called up to Nigeria for its U23 Olympic squad for the African Cup of Nations qualifiers, reports BSNSports.com.ng.

Nigeria played out a 1-1 draw with Tanzania in the first leg on Saturday, before the return game at the Lekan Salami Stadium.

After starting with Castleknock Celtic in the Dublin & District Schoolboys League, Hezekiah moved to UCD and also lined out with DkIT (pictured above) before joining Dundalk at the start of the 2022 season.

The attacking midfielder has been an integral part of Tiarnan Mulvenna’s side which finished as runners-up to St Patrick’s Athletic in Tier One.

“Hezekiah came in during pre-season after being with Thomas McShane at DkIT and he has done well for us. He comes in, works hard in every session and he’s very humble,” said Mulvenna.

“He’s technically very good, can play in several positions, and his game intelligence is very good and we are very happy with how he has progressed this season.”

Okirikpo is one of the 10 foreign-based players in the Nigeria squad and he said he was eager to make an impression.

“The invitation feels amazing and I’m ready to serve with all my strength because this is what I have always wanted,” he said.

“When I got the news, I said finally, thank God, because this is the moment for me to show my desire to serve the country and I know we will do everything to get the ticket to the next round.”

The winner of the tie will advance to a third-round playoff in March 2023 where a place in next summer’s finals in Morocco will be up for grabs.