Blessing Okpe Scores Again as Belarus League Star Hits 12th Goal in Dnepr Defeat
Blessing Okpe extended her remarkable goalscoring run in the Belarus Women’s Vysshaya Liga, though her individual brilliance wasn’t enough to prevent Dnepr Mogilev from suffering a tough 3-2 home defeat against Dynamo Brest.
The 22-year-old forward, who was presented with the prestigious FONBET Player of the June Award before kickoff, scored her 12th league goal in just 11 appearances this season.
Despite her efforts to spark a comeback, a late red card and a stoppage-time heartbreak left Dnepr empty-handed in their Round 11 clash.
Dynamo Brest caught the hosts off guard with a ruthless start, striking twice in the opening quarter of an hour:
11th Minute: Shamirah Nalugya opened the scoring for the visitors.
13th Minute: Nadezhda Ilinykh doubled the advantage just 120 seconds later, leaving Dnepr stunned.
Unfazed by the early deficit, the Nigerian winger pulled one back for the hosts in the 28th minute, clinical as ever to bring the score to 2-1 before the halftime break.
Dnepr’s persistence paid off at the hour mark when Ekaterina Frolova found the equalizer, levelling the score at 2-2 and setting up a grandstand finish.
Meanwhile, Okpe’s compatriot and Super Falcons star, Blessing Nkor, remained an unused substitute despite her own strong run of form.
The momentum swung drastically in the 79th minute when Dnepr was reduced to 10 players.
Kseniya Kubichnaya received her second yellow card of the afternoon, forcing the hosts to defend the draw with a numerical disadvantage.
Dynamo Brest made the extra player count in the dying moments of the match. In the 90th minute, Dziana Asmalouskaya capitalised on a late chance to secure a dramatic 3-2 victory for the visitors.
With this hard-fought victory, Dynamo Brest holds onto 2nd place in the standings with 30 points from 11 matches, trailing league leaders Minsk by three points.
On the other hand, Okpe and her Dnepr Mogilev teammates slide down to 6th place, remaining on 19 points.
