The Gift Orban Golden Boot race has a new outright leader. The Amedspor striker rose to head home his 10th league goal of the season in Saturday’s seven-goal thriller at RAMS Park, moving clear of fellow Nigerian Victor Osimhen at the top of the Süper Lig scoring chart — even though his side eventually lost 4-3 to Galatasaray.
Orban and Osimhen had gone into the weekend locked together on nine goals apiece, but only one of them was on the pitch in Istanbul. Osimhen was watching from the sidelines after undergoing surgery on his left knee earlier in the day, and Orban took full advantage, meeting Furkan Soyalp’s cross with a powerful header in the 65th minute to drag Amedspor back to 3-2 and put himself outright top of the race.
It was the goal the morning had promised and the afternoon delivered. Hours earlier, the question was whether Orban could seize the chance his rival’s injury had handed him. By full time, the answer was sitting at the top of the scoring chart: Orban 10, Osimhen 9.
Seven goals and a late scare at RAMS Park
The champions looked to be cruising when Rafael Leão opened the scoring in the seventh minute, finishing a pass from Lucas Torreira, and Aleksey Batrakov doubled the lead before half-time. Batrakov struck again in the 59th minute, his shot from outside the box taking a deflection off David Bates, and at 3-0 the game appeared to be over as a contest.
Amedspor had other ideas. Dia Saba pulled one back with a free kick in the 62nd minute that beat Uğurcan Çakır, and three minutes later Orban’s header made it 3-2 and brought the match back to life. The visitors were suddenly pushing for an equaliser against the league leaders, and for a spell the champions were rocking.
Galatasaray needed to restore order, and Barış Alper Yılmaz did it in the 80th minute, heading home a cross from Gabriel Sara to make it 4-2. There was still time for one more twist: Yira Sor reacted quickest to a rebound inside the box in stoppage time to make it 4-3, and the Istanbul side had to survive a nervy finish before the final whistle confirmed the three points.
The win takes Galatasaray to 28 points, five clear of Amedspor in second, but the visitors left Istanbul with their heads high and their striker holding the Golden Boot lead.
Osimhen frozen on nine
Osimhen can only watch the race from the treatment room for now. The Galatasaray striker has undergone surgery on his left knee after suffering the injury in Tuesday’s Champions League win over VfB Stuttgart, with medical examinations revealing a loose fragment inside the joint that required an arthroscopic procedure.
His tally is frozen on nine goals and three assists in just eight league appearances — a goal every 62 minutes, the best rate in the division. Turkish reports suggest he could be sidelined for around three weeks, with the Champions League meeting with Aston Villa on November 24 earmarked as a possible return date, although Galatasaray have not confirmed any timeline.
That pause is exactly what Orban needed in the Gift Orban Golden Boot race. The Amedspor striker has now scored 10 goals and provided four assists this season, and he has done it while carrying the attack of a newly promoted side that few expected to be anywhere near the title race in November.
Salah lurks two behind in the Gift Orban Golden Boot race — and Chelle’s snub stings
Orban cannot relax yet. Trabzonspor forward Salah sits on eight league goals, just two behind the new leader, and he has the chance to close the gap when Trabzonspor visit Alanyaspor on Sunday. A brace would bring him level with Orban; a hat-trick would put him ahead.
There is also a sharper edge to Orban’s achievement. Despite leading the scoring chart in Turkey, he was not included in Eric Chelle’s 24-man Super Eagles squad for the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Tanzania, named earlier on Saturday. The forwards picked were Moses Simon, Taiwo Awoniyi, Akor Adams, Ademola Lookman, Tolu Arokodare and Moses Usor — no place for the division’s top scorer, just as there was no place for Kelechi Iheanacho despite his 17 goals for Bursaspor.
It is a selection call that will be debated for as long as Orban keeps scoring, and on Saturday’s evidence he has no intention of stopping. His loan move from Hoffenheim has transformed him from a striker short of minutes in Germany into the most dangerous forward in Turkey, and Amedspor have scored 28 goals in 11 league games on the back of his form.
Whatever Chelle decides, the early story of the Turkish season belongs to Nigeria’s strikers. Two Super Eagles forwards lead the scoring chart in one of Europe’s most competitive leagues, and tonight the lead changed hands in front of a packed RAMS Park. Orban has the Gift Orban Golden Boot lead in his sights — now he has to keep it there.
For today’s predictions across Europe’s top leagues, see our today’s football predictions.
Photos: RAMS Park, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0, Batuhan Karadeniz) — collage by SportsBuddy
