Ernest Inneh (born September 25, 1970 in Nigeria) is a retired Nigerian-American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player. He is now a coach at the

Metropolitan Oval The Metropolitan Oval, also known as Met Oval, is a soccer complex located in Maspeth, Queens in New York City. ''Village Voice'' named the complex, which takes up , the "Best full soccer field in the middle of a residential neighborhood" in ...

Development Academy. He scored the only goal in the final of the 1991 U.S. Open Cup.

Playing career

Inneh, a native of Nigeria, attended

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...

where he played on the men's soccer team from 1988 to 1991. In addition to playing collegiate soccer, Inneh also played for the

Victoria Vistas The Victoria Vistas were a professional soccer team based in Victoria, British Columbia that competed in the original Canadian Soccer League. The Vistas joined the CSL for the 1989 season and folded after the 1990 season. Victoria All-star team ...

of the

Canadian Soccer League The Canadian Soccer League (CSL; french: Ligue canadienne de soccer — LCS) is a semi-professional league for Canadian soccer clubs primarily located in the province of Ontario, and claims the history of the Canadian National Soccer League (C ...

and the

Brooklyn Italians Brooklyn Italians is an American soccer team based in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1949, the team last played in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), a national amateur league at the fourth tier of the Ameri ...

in the

Cosmopolitan Soccer League The Cosmopolitan Soccer League is a regional soccer league consisting of semi-pro and amateur teams based in and around New York City. Established in 1923, it is one of the oldest soccer leagues in the United States and has contributed greatly ...

. On August 10, 1991, he scored the winning goal for the

in the final of the 1991 U.S. Open Cup. He then signed with the

Penn-Jersey Spirit Penn-Jersey Spirit played in the American Professional Soccer League in 1990 and 1991. The team's home stadium was Lions Stadium in Ewing, New Jersey, on the campus of Trenton State College (today known as the College of New Jersey). The team ...

of the

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. It ...

. He played one game with the team on August 24, 1991. Inneh then pursued a successful career in Greece playing with Greek first division club

Korinthos F.C. P.A.S. Korinthos ( el, Π.Α.Σ. Κόρινθος), also known simply as Korinthos ( el, links=no, Κόρινθος ) or with its full name Pagkorinthiakos Athlitikos Syllogos Korinthos ( el, Παγκορινθιακός Αθλητικός Σύλ ...

, where he famously scored against Olympiakos CFP. Korinthos were relegated following the 1992–93 season, and Inneh played for the club in the Greek second division. Poised for a move to one of the big three in Greece, Inneh injured his knee and required surgery. He returned to play in the Greek third division with Agios Nikolaos F.C. during the 1994–95 season. He joined Greek second division club

Panelefsiniakos F.C. Panelefsiniakos F.C. ( el, Πανελευσινιακός Α.Ο.), the ''Panelefsiniakos Athletic Club'', is a association football, football club based in the city of Eleusis, Elefsina, Greece. The club currently competes in Football League (G ...

in 1996. Inneh then returned to continue his career in the United States. In 1997, he signed with the

Long Island Rough Riders The Long Island Rough Riders are an American soccer team based in South Huntington, New York, United States. Founded in 1994, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at Hofst ...

of the

USISL United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

halfway through the season, scoring nine goals in eleven games. On February 1 1998, the

Dallas Burn Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

selected Inneh in the second round (twenty-second overall) of the

1998 MLS Supplemental Draft The 1998 Major League Soccer Supplemental Draft was held on February 1, 1998, at the Airport Hilton in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Format Major League Soccer held a professional player combine in Fort Lauderdale the last week of January 1998. On Sat ...

. The Burn did not sign Inneh and he returned to the Rough Riders, but was unable to replicate his scoring feats through thirteen games. On August 14, 1998, Long Island traded Inneh to the

Staten Island Vipers The Staten Island Vipers were a soccer club that competed in the USL A-League in 1998 and 1999. The club was based on Staten Island, New York City. The team played its games at Tottenville High School and Wagner College. The team dissolved follow ...

in exchange for Roberto Deluca. He remained with the Vipers in 1999, earning A-League First XI honors after scoring eighteen goals in twenty-four games. In February 2000, the

Tampa Bay Mutiny Tampa Bay Mutiny was a professional soccer team based in Tampa, Florida. They were a charter member of Major League Soccer (MLS) and played from 1996 to 2001. They played their home games at Tampa Stadium and then at Raymond James Stadium. The ...

selected Inneh in the sixth round of the 2000 MLS SuperDraft. The Mutiny waived him on April 20, 2000. He then signed with the

Westchester Flames Westchester Flames is an American soccer team based in New Rochelle, New York, United States. Founded in 1999, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid. The team plays its home games at City Park Stadium, w ...

in the

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental association football, soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United Stat ...

. At the end of the season, he went on loan with the

Rochester Rhinos Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to ...

as they entered the playoffs. The Rhinos won the

USL A-League The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

championship. In 2001, he was back with Westchester, playing with the team through the 2004 season.

Coaching career

Inneh became an assistant coach with the Flames in 2003. In 2005, he became head coach and resigned on February 26, 2006 and became head of the club's youth development system. Inneh now coaches for Westchester Flames and Auburndale Soccer club.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Inneh, Ernest 1970 births Living people American Professional Soccer League players American soccer coaches American men's soccer players Nigerian men's footballers Brooklyn Italians players Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992) players Penn-Jersey Spirit players Rochester New York FC players Staten Island Vipers players A-League (1995–2004) players Westchester Flames players P.A.S. Korinthos players A.O. Agios Nikolaos F.C. players Panelefsiniakos F.C. players Super League Greece players USL League Two players FC Dallas draft picks Tampa Bay Mutiny draft picks Victoria Vistas players Men's association football forwards Men's association football midfielders Brooklyn College alumni Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Expatriate men's footballers in Greece American expatriate sportspeople in Greece