Nigerian goalkeeper Chijioke Aniagboso has come under fire from his own coach following a bizarre own goal during Chornomorets Odesa’s 1-0 loss to Obolon Kyiv in the Ukrainian Premier League, Soccernet.ng reports.
The 21-year-old, who had recently enjoyed a breakthrough with Chornomorets, was starting just his third league game of the season when disaster struck.
In an attempt to clear the ball under minimal pressure, Aniagboso sliced it directly into his own net, gifting the hosts all three points.
The error sparked criticism from Chornomorets goalkeeping coach and former Ukraine international Yevhen Borovyk, who didn’t hold back in his post-match assessment.
“Not just this season. That was total bulls**t. Absolute nonsense,” Borovyk said in an interview with Sport.
“It was just a reflex – he saw the ball and lashed at it. Probably something like that.”
Pressed further on Aniagboso’s reaction to the error, Borovyk added:
“I don’t grill goalkeepers after mistakes. That’s already in the past. Why would I poke at a fresh wound?”
Borovyk also dismissed any speculation about replacing the club’s first-choice keeper, stating: “No,” when asked if head coach Oleksandr Kucher had sought his input on a change.
When jokingly asked if he might come out of retirement to provide stability in goal, the 38-year-old was blunt:
“I’m done with football. I’m not the slightest bit interested in that anymore.”
The blunder came just weeks after Aniagboso recorded his first professional clean sheet in a vital 1-0 win over LNZ Cherkasy on April 5 — a result that ended Chornomorets’ 13-match winless streak and lifted them off the bottom of the table.
A product of Nigeria’s youth system, Aniagboso was the Flying Eagles’ No.1 at the 2023 U20 Africa Cup of Nations, where he kept four clean sheets in five matches and helped Nigeria to a third-place finish.
He also starred at the U20 World Cup in Argentina, notably shutting out both Italy and the host nation before a narrow quarter-final exit to South Korea.
Aniagboso’s steady rise earned him a move to Europe in 2023, first joining Polissya before loan spells and then a permanent switch to Chornomorets.
Despite his recent misstep, the young shot-stopper remains one of Nigeria’s most promising goalkeeping prospects.
After his error, Aniagboso was again named in the starting lineup for Chornomorets’ 2-1 loss at Veres Rivne on April 20th.
However, last weekend, the young Nigerian shot-stopper was included among the substitutes as Chornomorets suffered another 2-1 league defeat, this time at home, against Rukh Vynnyky.
Chornomorets need to win their last four league games to stand a chance of avoiding relegation from the Ukrainian top flight.