Nigeria international Umar Sadiq was on target as Almeria cruised to a 2-0 victory against Ibiza in their Spanish Segunda Division fixture at Estadio Mediterraneo on Friday.
The Rojiblancos were the superior side in the fixture but they were forced to wait until the 58th minute to take the lead through Largie Ramazani, who converted from the penalty spot before the 25-year-old Super Eagle scored a stunner in the 90th minute.
Almeria went into the game without a win in 2022 and they attacked their opponents from all angles, their best chance in the first half coming in the 34th minute when Sadiq set up Arnau Puigmal Martínez but his effort was saved by Ibiza’s goalkeeper Álex Domínguez.
However, in the second half, the Rojiblancos continued to search for the opener and it arrived in the 58th minute when Ramazani was fouled inside the danger zone, and he stepped up to send Domínguez the wrong way.
In the 73rd minute, Ibiza were dealt a blow after defender Álex Galvez was sent off for two bookable offences and Almeria took advantage to score the winner in the 90th minute.
It was Sadiq, fresh from returning from the Africa Cup of Nations where he represented Nigeria in Cameroon, who raced into a cross from Francisco Portillo, before rounding up Ibiza’s defender and then unleashing an unstoppable right-footed effort that hit the roof of the net.
Sadiq has now scored nine goals in this campaign after making 21 appearances and raking in 1714 minutes of play.
Almeria also saw their head coach Rubi sent off at half-time from the touchline and speaking after the game, the Spaniard said he was happy to have won the game.
“Victory is incontestable,” Rubi said as quoted by the club’s official website. "The win means a lot because it allowed Almería to increase confidence and end a bad streak.
“We came out a bit nervous with a rival that made us very uncomfortable but the most important thing is that we won.”
The win pushed Almeria to second position on the 22-team table with 49 points, the same number as leaders Eibar.
Sadiq will hope to continue with his scoring run when Almeria visit Malaga for their next league assignment at La Rosaleda Stadium on Saturday.
