Gift Orban scores brace on his debut for Gent in 6-goal thriller

Gift Orban scores for Belgian side Gent || Credit: Imago

BELGIAN PRO LEAGUE Gift Orban scores brace on his debut for Gent in 6-goal thriller

Faruq Ibrahim 19:03 - 11.02.2023

Gent Have new hero and he is Nigerian. New signing Gift Orban struck twice as Gent drew 3-3 against Westerlo.

Gent's new Nigerian striker Gift Orban scored twice on his debut as Gent drew 3-3 against KVC Westerlo.

var widgetLoaderConfig = widgetLoaderConfig || { CDN_URL: 'https://widgets.sportal365.com', APP_LINK: 'desktop', API_URL: 'https://africa.football.api.sportal365.com/', API_KEY: '2f852b4de2f3a5cf3188e74b33087bb4:2c18422f8e826a7d11aeed52edb2449e', LANG: 'en', REQUEST_INTERVAL: 30, ENABLE_BET_SLIP: false, AUTHOR: false, THEME: "light", TOURNAMENT_ORDER: "pulse_nigeria", LINK_OPTIONS_V2: { 'player' : { 'url': '/football/player/{playerId}' }, 'team' : { 'url': '/football/{teamId}' }, 'tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}' }, 'match': { 'url' : '/football/match/{matchId}', 'sort': { 'criteria': 'alphabetically', 'direction': 'asc' } }, 'configuration': { 'newWindow': false }, 'standings_tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}/standings' } } }; if (!document.querySelector('script[src="https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js"]')) { window.setTimeout(function () { let scriptCss = document.createElement('link'); scriptCss.href = 'https://www.pulsesports.ng/css/sport-widgets.css?v=1668785443'; scriptCss.rel = 'stylesheet'; scriptCss.type = 'text/css'; document.body.appendChild(scriptCss); let scriptTag = document.createElement('script'); scriptTag.src = 'https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js'; scriptTag.defer = true; scriptTag.onload = function () { window.setTimeout(function () { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }, 200); }; document.head.appendChild(scriptTag); }, 0); } else { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }

Gift signed for Gent from Norwegian side Stabæk Fotball in the January transfer window, and he shone in his debut as Gent went away to Westerlo at the Het Kuipje Stadium.

Gift Orban hits twice on debut

Hugo Cuypers put Gent ahead in the 14th minute of the game from the penalty spot, before Maxim de Cuyper equalised for the home team only two minutes later. 

Orban got his first of the night in the 30th minute of the game, as he acrobatically finished a lofted pass into the box to put his team ahead in the 30th minute. Only five minutes later, former Tottenham star Nacer Chadli pulled Westerlo level after Paul Nardi's save rolled the ball onto his path for a simple tap-in.

Orban celebrates after scoring for Gent
Orban celebrates after scoring for Gent

Westerlo went ahead for the first time in the game just after the break, as Lukas Van Eenoo finished past Sinan Bolat in goal for Gent. De Buffalo's new hero, Gift, made sure they went home with at least a point when he struck the ball into the top left corner from a well-whipped cross.

Orban grabbed the equaliser for his new team
Orban grabbed the equaliser for his new team

Gent is now just outside the top four, with Westerlo three points and two places behind them in seventh.

Gift Orban's game by numbers

Gift got the most important statistic in football, a goal, at least one more than anybody else in the game, but other than his two strikes, Orban made two key passes and created one of the only two big chances Gent managed.

The 20-year-old striker also attempted four shots, while completing two of the three dribbles he attempted.