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The Harambee Stars centre-back played in the middle of a three-man defence as Gent got off to a flyer in the Europa Conference League playoff tie
Harambee Stars defender Joseph Okumu played a key role as KAA Gent got off to a good start in their Europe playoffs with a 3-1 victory over Westerloo in the Belgian Pro League on Friday.
Okumu played all 90 minutes of the tie, slotting in, in the middle of a three-man defence, alongside German defender Jordan Torunarigha and polish centre-back Kamil Piatkowski as Gent coach Hein Vanhaezebrouck went with a 3-5-2 formation.
The hosts were, however, forced to come from behind to secure the crucial win after Mathias Fixelles gave Westerloo a 27th-minute lead via a long-range strike and they took a 1-0 lead to the break despite the home side dominating possession.
Gent then shifted up a gear after the interval and it did not take long before they found an equaliser, South Korean midfielder Hyun-Seok Hong levelling matters seven minutes later with his German counterpart Sven Kums giving the home side the lead three minutes later.
Substitute Gift Emmanuel Orban then hammered home the third from a tight angle, the Nigerian forward scoring just five minutes after coming on for Moroccan Tarik Tissoudali.
“That goal from them was sour, but we didn't panic. It is not often that we rectify a backlog so quickly,” Vanhaezebrouck said after the match.
Gent are looking to return to European competition after reaching the quarter-final of the Europa Conference League before getting knocked out by Premier League side West Ham last week.
The Belgian side finished fifth in the regular season and have to go into the promotion playoff alongside the sides that finished in the top eight to determine who will qualify for the competition next season.
Gent have benefited from a strong defence in home matches with Okumu a mainstay in the side as his performances have earned him praise as well as admiration from a host of top European teams.
Okumu and co will be away to Standard Liege next Saturday where another win will get them closer to achieving their ambitions
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