It was a chilly Saturday afternoon at the LFF Kauno Treniruotės Centro Stadionas in Kaunas, but former Buruj Football Club talent, Noah Abolaji Salaudeen, brought the heat—scoring and assisting in VJFM Fortuna’s emphatic 4–1 victory over FK Saned in their LYGA B Divizionas Round 2 clash in Lithuania.
P.M.EXPRESS reports that Salaudeen made a dramatic impact as a second-half substitute, helping Fortuna to bounce back from a humiliating 5–0 opening-day defeat to Vilnius FA, last Saturday.
VJFM Fortuna, the home team was trailing 0–1 at halftime and needed a spark. That turning point came in the form of the Nigerian forward, Noah Salaudeen, who replaced compatriot Rafiu Babatunde Kazeem, at the start of the second half.
The match shifted decisively in the 55th minute when FK Saned’s Koneij Goalkeeper was shown a red card, after pulling down goal bound Noah Salaudeen outside the area reducing the visitors to ten men.
Fortuna capitalized swiftly in the 59th minute as Cesnaviciust opened the floodgates of goals with a well taken goal to restore parity for Fortuna.
Just four minutes later, Salaudeen himself found the back of the net, finishing coolly to give Fortuna a commanding lead.
The momentum continued in the 66th minute as Cesnavicius struck again, with Salaudeen once more involved in the build-up—his pace and vision tearing through FK Saned’s depleted defense to set up Cesnaviciust for his brace, who also completed his hat trick in the 72nd minute.
By full-time, VJFM Fortuna had sealed a dominant 4–1 win—a much-needed boost after their early setback.
The story of the match was Salaudeen; from a halftime substitute to becoming the undisputed star of the match.
The Nigerian forward delivered a statement performance as he got the opposition’s goal tender sent off, then scoring a goal and an assist to turn the tide in Fortuna’s favour.
With the star performance from the Nigerian, who caught his teeth at Buruj FC Lagos, VJFM Fortuna will be hoping that this is just the beginning of a breakout season for their exciting new star.