Irankunda fires a screamer to open Watford account
Australian young gun Nestory Irankunda scored the first goal since his move to Watford with a sensational free-kick at Swansea City in the EFL Championship, but it wasn't enough to seal a win as the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
Irankunda curled home a superbly struck effort to give the visitors the lead 10 minutes before half-time, but Zan Vioptnik bagged one for the hosts late on to ensure the points were shared, both sides having won their opening fixtures of the season last weekend.
But it was Irankunda that lit up the day, and he revealed he'd asked permission from his captain, Moussa Sissoko, before firing home one of the best goals of the weekend anywhere in Europe.
With Watford's regular set-piece specialist Imran Louza suspended for the game, Irankunda wasn't about to pass up an opportunity to shine.
“I respect Imran, he can have all the free-kicks,” Irankunda said after the match.
“Moussa is the captain, so I asked him for permission and I feel confident in taking a free-kick.
“He asked me a couple of times, ‘Are you sure you can take free-kicks?’
“I said, ‘Yeah, go look at my highlight reels'.
“After that, I just put it into the [top] corner.”
The effort will be a quality addition to those highlight reels, and it was fitting that Irankunda himself had won the free-kick after being a constant menace to the Swans defence.
“It's just something I've worked on during my four years as a professional footballer,” he added.
“I'm really happy with the goal, but not so happy with the result.
“I've scored some good goals but that could be in my top five.”
There was concern when the Australian was treated on the field for a knock just before the hour, but Watford coach Paulo Pezzolano confirmed he was all good after being replaced by Kwadwo Baah.
Watford sits 12th on the early table, on place above Swansea, and will host Southampton next weekend.
