Nigeria U20 goalkeeper, Ebenezer Harcourt, made his long-awaited first-team debut in Sporting Lagos’ 1-1 draw with Stormers in the Nigeria National League(NNL) on Friday, www.aclsports.com reports.
The youngster, whose career has grown astronomically in the past year, came on for his first official senior appearance for the Lagos club in front of the home support in the stalemate.
The club, Sporting Lagos, have made a decent start to the new Nigeria National League season with wins over Osun United and First Bank in their first two games. However, Stormers gave a good fight to end that winning streak by forcing them to a 1-1 draw at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena in Lagos.
Against the run of play, the visitors took the lead through Ajibola Joel in the 20th minute, but the home side, having previously missed several goalscoring chances, found themselves level in the final moments of the game through Abdulraheem Suleiman. But it was a little too late, as the two sides settled for a draw.
The 16-year-old, who featured for Nigeria at the last U20 World Cup in Chile, came on for goalkeeper Clinton Lawani, who injured himself while trying to make a save just before the hour mark. The Academy product made a strong stop while Sporting Lagos were trailing in the game.
Having featured in the NLO for the Academy side, Harcourt’s appearance on Friday was his first for the senior team in the second division of Nigerian football. It will be recalled that he made his CHAN debut in August before he was later listed in Eric Chelle’s provisional squad for the Super Eagles back in September.
