Striker's remarkable journey from Rossington Main to Champions League goalscorer
· Paul Goodwin · 2026-08-05 · nguồn gốc
Striker's remarkable journey from Rossington Main to Champions League goalscorer
Yes, you read that correctly.
A former Rossington Main striker scored in the UEFA Champions League this week, capping a remarkable journey from the ninth tier of English football to Europe’s elite club competition.
Manasse Kianga, a very popular player during his time at Oxford Street, scored a stoppage time winner for Slovak champions Slovan Bratislava in their third qualifying round first leg victory over Swedish side Mjällby on Tuesday night.
Former Barcelona and Manchester City star Yaya Toure, appointed Bratislava manager in June, has given Kianga his chance following a number of injuries to forward players – and the 24-year-old has grabbed his opportunity with both hands, with one goal and two assists in his first two league matches prior to his Champions League strike.
Kianga signed for third tier Slovak side FC Locomotiva Kosice after leaving Rossington in 2024 before joining Slovan Bratislava II, the club’s reserve side.
He scored 51 goals in 115 appearances for Rossington between 2019 and 2024, helping the club win promotion to the NCEL Premier Division in 2023.
Main proudly posted news of Kianga’s matchwinning goal on their social media accounts. “Great player and an even better kid, well done Manny mate,” replied Lewis Hill on Facebook. While Wayne Doherty said: “One of those lads you couldn't help but like. Fantastic story all the best pal”.
Bratislava will take a 2-1 lead into next week’s home leg. The winners of the tie will face FC Ararat-Armenia or NK Celje in the play-off round for a place in the competition’s lucrative league phase.