Daniel Akpeyi is not a happy man and he is working hard to regain his Eagles’ first team shirt after surrendering it to the then standby goalkeeper, Ikechukwu Ezenwa, following his poor show against Bafana Bafana of South Africa in a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations Qualifier in Uyo.
Eagles eventually lost the game by 0-2 and since then things have fallen apart for the Chippa United goal tender, as Ezenwa grabbed the opportunity of manning Nigeria’s goalpost with both hands against Cameroon, necessitating the current battle by Akpeyi to regain his lost shirt.
Ezenwa’s five-star performance against Africa champions, Indomitable Lions of Cameroun in Uyo in a FIFA World Cup qualifier frankly did not help Akpeyi’s case and eventually turned the table against him.
However, The Point gathered that Akpeyi’s continued brilliant start to the season is going well for him after posting another shutout in Chippa United’s 2-0 win over Bidvest Wits in the South African top-flight on Wednesday.
The Super Eagles netminder, according to reports, is in the form of his life, with the clean-sheet he posted against The Students at BidVest Stadium (Johannesburg) his fifth in eight appearances across all competitions this season.
Lyle Lakay (Cape Town City), Mutizwa (Golden Arrows) and Nhlapo (SuperSport United) are the three players that have managed to score against Daniel Akpeyi this season.
Wednesday’s game was the first time the former Warri Wolves shot-stopper has put two straight clean sheets this term as he didn’t concede in Chippa United’s 1-0 win over Sundowns in the Telkom Knockout on October 29.
Subject to the Nigeria Football Federation sending him a plane ticket, he will depart South Africa this week to link up with his international teammates in Morocco. The trip is expected to take approximately fourteen hours.
A tougher test awaits Akpeyi if he starts ahead of Ikechuwku Ezenwa and Francis Uzoho in Friday’s World Cup qualifier against Algeria, as he will come up against the formidable Leicester City duo Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimani.
Akpeyi began his career with Gabros International FC and was promoted to the first team in 2005, but moved to Nasarawa United FC in January 2007. He was an undisputed starter for both clubs.
He later joined Heartland FC for their 2010 CAF Champions League campaign, and was again first-choice. In February 2014, it was announced that he had left Heartland to join league rivals, Warri Wolves, but a few days later, Heartland denied the move by an official statement, stating that they had no intention to sell their first choice goalkeeper.
In the following month, however, the deal was confirmed again and Akpeyi joined Warri Wolves. In 2015, he signed a two-year deal with Chippa.
Akpeyi was a member of the Nigeria national under-20 football team at 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in Netherlands and was in the 22-man squad before the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics, but did not see action in either tournament. He was also called up to the 23-man squad for the 2014 African Nations Championship as a backup to Chigozie Agbim.
On May 6, 2014 Akpeyi was named in the 30-man provisional squad ahead of 2014 FIFA World Cup.
He made his first full cap in 2015, called in for the friendly vs. South Africa as a replacement for an injured Vincent Enyeama. He saved a penalty and was lauded for his strong keeping in his Man of the Match performance.
