Ghana striker Abdul Majeed Waris inspired Valenciennes to a memorable 2-1 victory over Stade Rennes after assisting and scoring the match-winner at the Stade du Hainaut in the French Ligue 1.
The 22-year-old had set up Mathieu Dossevi for Valenciennes’ equaliser in the 54th minute before he elected himself to convert a 74th minute penalty to crown his impressive performance on the night.
Swedish international Ola Toivonen put Rennes ahead three minutes into the second-half but Waris ensured the Red and Whites got on level terms when he squared for Dossevi to bury the ball home to the level.
The Spartak Moscow loanee continued to lead his side’s attack and piled more pressure on Rennes defence which did not have Ghana defender John Boye (the center-back was bench).
As Valenciennes continued to mount the pressure, Rennes’ Cameroonian defender Jean-Armel Kana-Biyik fouled Tongo Doumbia inside the box and received a straight red-card for the challenge.
Waris stepped up and struck the ball home neatly to hand a precious victory to Valenciennes and take his Ligue 1 tally to 5 in 9 games.
The striker rejoined his club on Thursday after playing 90 minutes in Ghana’s international friendly loss to Montenegro on Wednesday.