Super Eagles forward, Simy Nwankwo, struck a brace in Crotone’s 4-2 win over Torino at the Stadio Ezio Scida on Sunday.
The triumph at the Stadio Ezio Scida was Crotone’s first win since January 17 when they beat Benevento and it ended a run of seven consecutive defeats in the Italian top-flight.
Nwankwo opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 25th minute, but his effort was cancelled out by Rolando Mandragora’s equaliser on the stroke of half-time.
Nine minutes after the restart, the Nigeria international fired the hosts ahead again, after which Ounas assisted Arkadiusz Reca to make it 3-1 in the 80th minute, and the Algeria midfielder sealed the victory with a stoppage-time goal.
Nwankwo was on parade for 75 minutes before he was replaced by Samuel Di Carmine, while Ounas played for the duration of the match.
The Super Eagles forward is still the highest-scoring player for Crotone this season with eight goals to his name after 26 Serie A appearances.
Despite Sunday’s win against their fellow strugglers, Crotone remain at the bottom of the league table with 15 points from 26 matches, while Torino are 18th after gathering 20 points, although they have two games in hand.
The Pythagoreans have won just four matches in the Italian top-flight so far this term, the third-lowest after Torino (three wins) and 19th-placed Parma (two wins).
After scoring three goals in his last two games, Nwankwo will be hoping to earn an invitation to Gernot Rohr’s team for Nigeria’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifying fixtures against Benin and Lesotho, which are scheduled for March 27 and 30 respectively.
Next up for Crotone in their Serie A relegation battle is a trip to Lazio on March 12, with the target of securing their first away victory in the 2020-21 season.
