Getting into the scoring sheet for club Fulham and been voted Fulham Man of the Match after a 1-1 draw with former club Everton last Saturday, has brought to the forefront, once again, the stimulating role Nigerian playmaker Alex Iwobi, can rise to.
The former Toffees forward was on the score sheet on his return to Goodison Park, finding the bottom corner after some excellent build-up work from Emile Smith Rowe.
The number 17 was thereafter decided the MVP with fans voting him 52.31 per cent majority. Kenny Tete and Smith Rowe followed behind with 10.51 per cent and 7.95 per cent.
Though, Fulham coach Emile Smith Rowe was left ruing two points dropped after Fulham dropped the lead at Goodison Park.
A dominant away performance looked set to yield maximum points courtesy of Iwobi’s fine strike, but Everton substitute Beto headed in a late 94th minute equaliser to snatch a draw for the hosts.
He said: “A real low blow. Really disappointed to concede in the last couple of minutes. I thought we dominated, so it’s really annoying and I’m not happy.
“It’s really difficult [to take]. I thought we implemented the gameplan really well, we dominated at times, and thought we’d come away with the three points. And then in the last few minutes you have to stay switched on, and we didn’t. The players committed themselves to the plan with our philosophy, with what we want to do on the pitch and, of course, even if the result was really tough, the fans have to be proud of the way we played this evening.”
BEAUTIFUL FOOTBALL
The opener was a thing of beauty, with Smith Rowe gliding beyond a number of blue shirts before laying off to Iwobi who guided his shot inside the near post from the edge of the box.
And while pleased to contribute, Rowe’s assist did not compensate for the dropped points in the eyes of the midfielder.
“I think I had a really slow first half, so I think it was important for me to get on the ball more in the second half, and try and inject something into the game,” Rowe explained. “It was a good goal by Alex as well so I was happy with that, but then really disappointed with how it ended.
“[Iwobi] can do that, he can define the games. He’s a really good finisher as well, so I’m happy for him to get his goal, but I think for us it was really important to get the three points, and we didn’t do that.”
Despite the gutting conclusion, there were still plenty of positives to take from the draw. “The Manager told us that we’ve got to keep our heads up and go again. We’re all really down at the moment – it’s normal – but we’ve got to go again, we’ve got to get ready for a massive derby next week.”
WE CAN DO BETTER
Equally, Iwobi isn’t happy. Perhaps, out of courtesy for Everton fans he did not celebrate his goal with a flurry, be believed that they played well enough to have gone home with a win on the day.
“We didn’t give a chance for them to press us the way Everton normally press at home, and we were patient enough to build our attacks in the right moments to create chances.
“First-half, we created three or four clear chances to score. Unfortunately, we were not ruthless enough to start scoring, and second-half was almost the same story again.
“We took control of the game, playing in our offensive half most of the time and it was a great goal from us. Unfortunately, they score and, to be honest, we should defend our box better.
“Clearly we were the much better team and we deserved the three points.”
MUSIC
Alex, who spent most of his time away from trainings and matches in the studio either penning new musical lines or recording, said music has been helping him to focus on the positives.
Alex Iwobi has always loved music and throughout his career it has proved an escape from the spotlight of being a Premier League footballer.
On days off, the Fulham midfielder often heads to the recording studio with friends and together they pass the time rapping and making music.
“It’s a certain way of just expressing yourself and letting yourself be,” Iwobi tells Standard Sport.
“It’s a hobby, a way to escape from football. It’s just a sense of freedom and being someone else – not just Alex the footballer.”
This summer, however, what started as a hobby evolved into much more as Iwobi became the first Premier League player to release their own single.
The lyrics behind the song have a deeper meaning and are based around encouraging young people to ‘shoot’ towards their life goals, as opposed to street violence.
“Growing up in London, there is a lot of criminal activity, things that you don’t want to see or hear,” says Iwobi.
“With our powers, we are trying to say don’t do that, channel it into something else. Whether it is football or music, anything that keeps you on the straight path is what we are trying to show everyone.
“I’ve always loved music, I am not going to lie, but in terms of releasing a song, I never thought [that would happen]. It was just something where my friends said: ‘The music is actually decent, why don’t you release it?’
The song is part of Iwobi’s wider work away from football, with the midfielder determined to make the most of his profile.
CHARITY
Iwobi has also given himself to charity work and he has devoted parts of his time to it.
In the summer he hosted his annual Project 17 community day, staging a football tournament in Enfield that had over 1,000 people from the local area attend.
All proceeds from the day were donated to The Christian Mbulu Charity, which is close to Iwobi’s heart and provides support for individuals between the ages of 13 to 18 and professional footballers.
“I’ve always thought with football, and the influence I have, I’d be able to bring the community together on a bigger scale. Where I grew up in Essex and east London, we all loved football and it brings people together. It doesn’t matter how old you are, what gender you are, when it is a hot day, you come to the park, you come to the cage and everyone is playing football. I’ve tried to carry that on the older I get.
“I try to show people that I am not just a footballer. At the end of the day, I am one of the people that was in the community, that likes to be with their friends, that likes to give back to people that are less fortunate.”
