By Korede James
Viktoria Plzen head coach Miroslav Koubek has praised Nigerian forward Rafiu Durosinmi after his brace helped the Czech Republic club reach the UEFA Europa League round of 16.
Going into Thursday’s second leg clash, Viktoria Plzen needed to overturn the 1-0 first leg deficit.
Durosinmi broke the deadlock in the 27th minute to bring the aggregate scoreline to 1-1 before Pavel Sulc made it 2-0 with 10 minutes left in the first half.
In the 38th minute Durosinmi got his second goal and Viktoria Plzen’s third.
“Rafiu is excellent in the penalty area. He has a goal instinct, he can find the right place and get to the ball. However, his lack in the middle game and combination component is still visible,” Koubek said of Durosinmi during his post-match press conference.
“He is far from his top level yet. But if he scores two goals in 60 minutes of play, we will definitely not complain.”
Before joining Czech side Karviná in 2022 Durosinmi played youth football in Nigeria.
During his first season at Karvina, he scored three goals, including one against Slavia Prague.
In January 2023, he was loaned to Viktoria Plzeň before making the move permanent.
