Stoke City striker Saido Berahino finally ended his two-year plus wait for a goal last night but it probably wasn't the ideal way of breaking the duck.
Cast aside from first-team commitments by manager Paul Lambert because of poor fitness levels and ill-discipline, Berahino was not with the Stoke first-team squad for the 1-1 draw with West Ham at the London Stadium.
Instead, he was playing for the Under 23's in a 5-1 humbling at the hands at Brighton. The Burundi-born forward found the net in what his second consecutive game playing for the reserves.
While it technically doesn't count unless you take a leaf out of Pele's book and count every single goal - irrespective of whether it was in a friendly or in a game at the local park, Berahino has experienced the feeling of scoring a goal again.
Berahino's last competitive strike came for West Brom against Crystal Palace on February 27, 2016 - a staggering 2 years, 1 month and 21 days ago.
In 2014/15, Berahino bagged 20 goals in all competitions for the Baggies and was well way on his way to progressing from the England Under 21's to the full Three Lions squad.
He was also subject to strong interest from Tottenham, who made a total of four bids, the highest of which was a reported £23 million, to try and take him to North London.
West Brom resisted those advances and he remained at the Hawthorns until January 2017 when he moved to Stoke in a £12 million deal.
Tipped as England's future strike, Berahino's career really hasn't gone to plan since his prolific campaign for WBA and his fall from grace has been unparalleled.
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