Columbus Crew Sporting Director Greg Belhater has praised young Ghanaian defender Lalas Abubakar after scoring the winner against New England Revolution in the Major League Soccer on Saturday.
The 23 year old defender scored a powerful header as Columbus Crew beat New England, to extend their unbeaten run to six games.
The former Dayton University player has been a key member of the team this campaign after the struggles of last season.
Following his 85 minute header which earned the team all three points on the road, Greg Belhater showered praised on the young defender.
"What I like most about Lalas, is immediately after the game, he came to me and said, 'I didn't play great.' Here’s a guy that scored a game-winning goal, is on top of the world, the team wins, and he's immediately thinking 'Hey, I need to improve, I need to get better," he told the club's website.
"And that's what I love about Lalas. He knows he didn't have the best night, he knows it wasn't as clean winning duels as he would've liked, but in the end, he scored the game-winning goal, we got three points on the road and we had a shutout. I think he has a lot to be proud of, and I think the acknowledgment that there's still work to do is excellent," he added.
Lalas Abuabakar has form a solid partnership with the more experienced Jonathan Mensah in the heart of defence for the club. Mensah and fellow compatriot Harrinson Afful all saw 90 minutes of action.
By Lukman Evergreen Mumin