Taiwo Awoniyi marked his first full outing in Coventry colours with a goal and an assist as the Sky Blues beat Plymouth Argyle 4-2 in the second round of the Carabao Cup.
The Super Eagles striker, who sealed his move from Nottingham Forest last week, needed little time to settle. Three minutes in he opened the scoring, striking with his right foot from the left of the box into the bottom-right corner. Not long after, he slipped a sharp pass into Jack Rudoni, who finished with his left from the right side of the area to make it two.
Ephron Mason-Clark and Victor Torpe added second-half goals to put the tie beyond Plymouth and send Coventry through. Awoniyi was withdrawn with twenty minutes left, Sidiki Cherif coming on in his place.
The Nigerian arrived at Coventry in the current summer window and had already tasted senior action as a substitute in the 3-0 loss to Arsenal at the Emirates, introduced with twenty minutes remaining for Ellis Reco Simms. After this showing he will want to keep the run going as the club fights to stay in the Premier League through the 2026/2027 season.
On the same night, English-Nigerian forward Josh Ajala announced himself on his full West Ham debut with two goals in a 4-1 Carabao Cup win over Southampton at St Mary’s. Nuno Espírito Santo fielded a young side, handing five teenagers a start, Ajala among them. The 19-year-old had made his first senior appearance earlier this month, coming on in stoppage time in a 3-1 win over Portsmouth.
Léo Scienza put Southampton ahead inside ten minutes. Four minutes before the break Ajala levelled, heading in Lewis Orford’s cross, before going on to complete his brace as West Ham ran out comfortable winners, Zoyols News reports.
