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EREDIVISIE

Video: Maduka Okoye shows Nigerian 'agbero' spirit to chase off pitch invader in incredible moment against Vitesse Arnhem

Maduka Okoye 2 (IMAGO/Pro Shots)
Maduka Okoye 2 (IMAGO/Pro Shots)
Maduka Okoye showed the other skills in his arsenal as he stood up to a pitch invader in an away game at Vitesse
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Super Eagles goalkeeper Maduka Okoye was the centre of attraction in Sparta Rotterdam's away game at Vitesse Arnhem as he ran off a pitch invader during the Dutch Eredivisie match. 

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Okoye was having an incredible match away at the Gelredome, having already made nine saves including a 64th-minute penalty to preserve his team's slender 1-0 lead when he showed absolute courage and calm as the game wound up.

Maduka Okoye 3 (IMAGO/Pro Shots)
Maduka Okoye made an incredible penalty save in the 64th minute to keep Sparta Rotterdam in the match (IMAGO/Pro Shots)

In the 91st minute of the match, a middle-sized spectator broke into the pitch and approached Okoye's penalty area but the 23-year-old goalkeeper faced the invader and gestured authoritatively for him to get off the pitch. 

Okoye chased off the pitch invader before other Rotterdam players arrived on the scene.

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The Super Eagles goalkeeper was in imperious form on Friday and put in a Man of the Match performance before events went out of hand in the dying minutes of the match. 

In second half additional time, Okoye was hit by a bottle thrown from the crowd as he walked in his goalpost in readiness for the final whistle. 

Okoye immediately went down on the turf and all Rotterdam players subsequently walked off the pitch in response to the attack on their goalkeeper.

Maduka Okoye (IMAGO/Pro Shots)
Maduka Okoye was hit by a bottle during his Man of the Match performance against Vitesse Arnhem (IMAGO/Pro Shots)
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Sparta Rotterdam players refused to return to the pitch which led to the abandonment and cancellation of the match by Referee Rob Dieperink.

The league governing body of the Eredivisie is yet to release a definitive statement on the match as at the time of the report. 

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