Forgotten Super Eagles Forward Comes Off the Bench to Scores Twice in Seven-Goal Thriller

According to a report by OwnGoalNigeria on Sunday, October 25, 2026, forgotten Super Eagles forward Josh Maja came off the bench to score twice for Le Havre in a seven-goal thriller against Marseille on Sunday.

However, his late brace was not enough to prevent his side from suffering a 4-3 defeat in the French Ligue 1.

Marseille looked set for a comfortable victory after racing into a 4-0 lead, with Nigerian midfielder Tochukwu Nnadi featuring in the hosts’ midfield.

The hosts took the lead in the fifth minute when CJ Egan-Riley headed home from a corner kick.

Timothy Weah doubled Marseille’s advantage in the 33rd minute to ensure they went into the half-time break with a two-goal cushion.

Marseille continued their dominance after the restart, with Igor Paixão extending the lead in the 50th minute following a well-worked set-piece routine.

Himad Abdelli then made it 4-0 five minutes later with a powerful effort, leaving Le Havre facing a daunting task.

However, Le Havre mounted a late comeback, with substitute Maja spearheading their fightback.

The Nigerian forward converted a penalty in the 77th minute to reduce the deficit before Mouhamed N’Diaye headed home in the 86th minute to make it 4-2.

Maja struck again in the 89th minute, rising to head in an excellent cross from Kaito Mizuta and bringing Le Havre within one goal of their opponents.

The visitors pushed for a dramatic equalizer in stoppage time, but a VAR review of a potential penalty ended without a spot-kick being awarded, allowing Marseille to hold on for all three points.

The brace takes Maja’s tally to three goals in eight appearances since joining Le Havre during the summer transfer window.

The 27-year-old forward has one senior cap for Nigeria, which came in the Super Eagles’ 2-2 international friendly draw against Ukraine in September 2019 under former head coach Gernot Rohr.

Despite his impressive performance against Marseille, Maja will be disappointed that his two goals could not prevent Le Havre from leaving the encounter empty-handed.

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