He is our No.9 — Super Eagles star gets support from coach after penalty miss and racism

Wolves head coach Rob Edwards has come to the defence of Tolu Arokodare after the Nigerian striker missed a penalty in their Premier League clash against Crystal Palace.

A late Evann Guessand strike condemned the Wanderers to a 1-0 defeat at Selhurst Park. However, the encounter and result could have gone differently had Arokodare scored from the spot late in the first half when Wolves were in the ascendancy.

The Super Eagles star has suffered racist abuse after the game; he shared screenshots of racist messages he got after the match. Wolves have released a statement decrying the bigotry and have extended their support to the player.

Speaking to the club’s website, Edwards defended Arokodare, stating that he was the designated penalty taker. He lauded him for his confidence in stepping up and praised his team for their performance.

“He felt confident. He was brave and stepped up, and it can happen. I’m never going to come out and criticise him for missing a penalty,” he said, per the club’s website.

“Tolu’s our number nine and felt positive over the ball. In that moment, you mustn’t change. There can be a number of people who want to take it, but Tolu was designated one and wanted to take it at that time. The lads were brilliant and took everything on board. They carried out the game plan really well. 

“I think we were the better team up until the sending off. Two big moments – the penalty and the sending off – and those two big things have gone against us. Even with ten men, they were pushing, and we had to defend long throws and defend the box, but I don’t think Sa had too much to do.”