Nigerian striker, Robert Jaguar Odu signed for Hong Kong Premier League side Happy Valley Fc in October from Nigerian National League club Starbase Fc for an undisclosed fee and has wasted no time in making his presence felt by scoring five goals in five appearances.
Jaguar, who was unknown before his arrival to the Asian continent, has made waves and is now enjoying a good start to life in his new hometown. He made his debut against Eastern in the Sapling Cup where they lost 2-0. He came on as a substitute in the next Cup game versus Southern which ended 0-0.
After two games, he hadn’t scored any goal, but, he didn’t let his head drop. In his third game, the postman delivered the letters by bagging a hat-trick against Resource Capital Fc in the Sapling Cup. He opened his account in the first half after he was teed up by his fellow countryman Adegbite Razaq. His second goal was scored through a diving header resulting from a free-kick which was delivered into the box. His perfect day was complete when he rose highest to nod home from a corner kick.
Members of Happy Valley Fc’s technical staff were delighted by his performance and decided to include him in the starting lineup for the first league game of the season against BC Rangers.
Once again, he dispatched a goal with authority. He was picked out by a fine pass from the midfield, then had a choice to square it to a teammate, instead he went for the harder option by looking at the position of the goalkeeper and played it to the keeper’s near post. Amazingly, it rolled into the back of the net as the keeper could only stand and watch the ball go into the net. The first league game ended in a 2-2 draw.
In the next game, Robert and his teammates were left with a daunting task to beat Kitchee which is acclaimed as the biggest team in Hong Kong. An inspirational figure in Robert made a statement when he scored against the big boys of the league. The goal was a joy to watch. Happy Valley’s defense did a good job by clearing the ball from a corner to Robert who was up against one defender. Subsequently, he rendered the defender useless effortlessly and slotted it home beneath the hands of a charging goalkeeper, however, both sides shared the spoils 1-1 after 90 minutes.
At this point in time, Robert is averaging a goal per game. Scoring five goals in five games is not as easy as it looks on paper. He is now the hottest property in the Hong Kong Premier League. Albeit, one of his goals has been nominated for goal of the month in November. The fans love him and he is gradually becoming a cult hero.
Nonetheless, he has dedicated his five goals in five games to his late father who passed on in 2019, during his final year at the University of Lagos.
In the event that he continues to score goals for fun, he should be able to achieve his aim of playing for his boyhood club Manchester United, just like Odion Ighalo. He is definitely ahead of the pack. The football lovers in Hong Kong are enthusiastic to see him on the pitch when the Coronavirus cases have been reduced as the Hong Kong government has hibernated all activities till things get better. Happy Valley AA were fourth in the standings of the league table before the Coronavirus cases took center stage for the second time this year.
Excellent work. The Jaguar is quite a predator in the box.