Okoye happy with Como draw

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Udinese goalkeeper Maduka Okoye has praised his teammates and the home support after helping the Friulians secure a 1-1 draw with Como in their opening Serie A game of the season.

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The Super Eagles goalkeeper produced a man-of-the-match display, making five crucial saves as Udinese picked up a point in front of their home fans.

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Udinese took the lead inside the opening half-hour when Hassane Kamara ran onto Jürgen Ekkelenkamp’s pass before chipping the ball over Jean Butez and into an empty net.

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Como levelled after the break when Okoye initially denied Trevoh Chalobah with a fine save from his header, but could do nothing to prevent Tasos Douvikas from following up and finding the back of the net.

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Okoye then made another stunning save to deny Douvikas from completing the comeback shortly after the equaliser.

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The draw was Udinese’s second competitive game of the campaign after they defeated Padova 1-0 in the Coppa Italia first round last weekend.

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Reflecting on the match, Okoye praised his teammates and singled out the support from the Udinese fans.

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“It’s an important point, we played against a strong team and we are happy. We entered the field to win, but in the end a point is fine,” the Super Eagles goalkeeper said, according to Udinese’s official website.

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“I’m glad to help the team with my saves, but it’s the team that played a great game today. We are all happy.

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“Starting over at home in front of our fans is beautiful, they helped us a lot. They are very important to us, we are grateful to have fans like that.”

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Udinese will return to action next weekend when they travel to face Monza, with Okoye hoping to maintain his impressive early-season form.

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