Liberian forward Sylvanus Nimely scored against Dinamo Samarkand and took his tally to four goals in all competitions, making him Kokand-1912’s leading scorer this season.
The match ended in a 3–2 victory for Dinamo, but Nimely continued his productive start with the Kokand side after joining the club shortly before the beginning of the campaign.
Kokand-1912 head coach Andrey Shipilov admitted that the former Spartak Moscow forward had exceeded his expectations.
“We signed Nimely almost at the last moment — a week or a week and a half before the championship began. He managed to play only 45 minutes with us during the training camp in Turkey. But he arrived from Fergana in good condition and was ready.
“He has been a pleasant surprise for me. He is a very decent guy and has made an excellent impression,” Shipilov said in an interview with Eurasia Football.
The coach added that Nimely was among the players brought in to fulfil specific tactical roles.
The 27-year-old joined Kokand-1912 on loan from Neftchi Fergana ahead of the season. He made six league appearances for Neftchi without scoring before moving to Kokand.
Nimely previously enjoyed a successful spell with Surkhon. In the 2023 Uzbekistan Super League season, he scored 12 goals in 26 matches and finished joint-second in the league’s scoring charts. He made another four appearances for the Termez club in 2024 but did not score.
Earlier in his career, Nimely represented Spartak Moscow and Spartak-2, Croatia’s Gorica, Finland’s Ilves and Azerbaijan’s Sumgayit. He made one Russian Premier League appearance for Spartak’s first team.