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 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player. He is now a coach at the Metropolitan Oval 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 in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...

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; ) 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 (CNSL). It is a non-FIFA league previously ...

and the Brooklyn Italians 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 greatl ...

. On August 10, 1991, he scored the winning goal for the Brooklyn Italians in the final of the 1991 U.S. Open Cup. He then signed with the Penn-Jersey Spirit 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. ...

. 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., 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. in 1996. Inneh then returned to continue his career in the United States. In 1997, he signed with the Long Island Rough Riders of the

USISL The United States Interregional Soccer League (USISL) was a semi-professional men's outdoor soccer league that played six seasons from 1989 to 1994. It was the first outdoor league to be operated by the organization known today as the United ...

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

Dallas Burn Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

selected Inneh in the second round (twenty-second overall) of the 1998 MLS Supplemental Draft. 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 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 The Tampa Bay Mutiny were an American professional soccer team based in Tampa, Florida. The club competed in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The Mutiny were a charter member of MLS, playing from 1996 to 2001. Th ...

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 ...

in the

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

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

Rochester Rhinos Rochester Rhinos, formerly known as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, was an American soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. The club won the 1999 U.S. Open Cup, marking the only time a non-MLS team has won the U.S. Open Cup sinc ...

as they entered the playoffs. The Rhinos won the

USL A-League The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second Di ...

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 20th-century American sportsmen