Boniface comes off the bench for fluke assist on Bremen winner

It has been a bit of a struggle for Victor Boniface at Werder Bremen but the Nigeria national team came off the bench to set up a dramatic late winner in Bremen’s 2-1 Bundesliga victory over Wolfsburg on Friday.

It was not exactly a moment of visionary brilliance but when the striker attempted an overhead kick deep into second half stoppage time, the ball popped high into the air where Samuel Mbangula finished with an excellent volley. It is Boniface’s second assist of the campaign from eight matches since joining on loan from Bayer Leverkusen.

Die Grün-Weißen move into 7th place on the Bundesliga table with the result and now have fifteen points from their ten matches. The club are now unbeaten in their last four matches.

Even if his assist came from a stroke of luck, the Nigerian forward was very active in an impressive substitute appearance. The 24-year-old added to his team’s efforts to find a winner by being an aerial threat and displaying his strong instincts around the penalty area, which can be world class on his best days.

The temperamental attacker acknowledged his slow start to life at Bremen but has pledged to improve his performance. After being relegated to the bench and responding with a strong effort as a substitute, the forward may earn himself a promotion to the starting XI next time coach Horst Steffen makes his decision. The next Bundesliga match will come on November 23 at RB Leipzig.