Francis Okoronkwo scored the winning goal for Salford on Monday against MK Dons in his full senior debut
Francis Okoronkwo was probably keen to get as far away from Salford as possible in the summer. On Monday, the Everton youngster enjoyed a dream debut for them.
The gifted forward joined the League Two club late in the transfer window on loan for the upcoming campaign and was thrust straight into the starting line-up for the clash with MK Dons.
Okoronkwo, who joined Everton from Sunderland in a deal worth around £1m in 2021, wasted little time in making an impact. Three minutes before the end of the first half, the Blues youngster picked up the ball on the edge of the box, slalomed past some challenges and rolled a brilliant left-footed effort into the corner.
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The goal would eventually prove to be enough for Salford to earn a 1-0 win. It was their first of the season, having drawn two and lost one of their previous two games.
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After the game, manager Karl Robinson didn’t mince his words on Okoronkwo’s overall performance.
“I thought his (Frankie) first 15 minutes were terrible,” he said after the game. “But his strength of character to have the confidence within yourself to take someone on and finish the way he did was very very good.”
After that “terrible” start, some Salford supporters may have been questioning the wisdom of signing the forward. They had previously delivered their own brutal verdict on the 20-year-old after all.
When Everton played Salford in pre-season in July, Okoronkwo was introduced as a second half substitute.
As relayed by Joe Thomas in his analysis afterwards, the home fans singled out the striker for abuse during the game, which Everton eventually went on to lose 2-1.
“Okoronkwo led the away side’s attacking effort as they pivoted to the left following the removal of the dangerous Jack Harrison from the other flank,” the report read.
“Such was his impact, Okoronkwo became the subject of distraction tactics from the supporters behind the goal he was attacking, many of whom tried to claim he was ineffective just as he was posing problems. He almost had the last laugh as he bore down on goal midway through the second half but a late challenge saw his effort deflected wide and Salford went on to take advantage at the other end.”
Needless to say, those opinions might be about to change.