Paul Onuachu marked his return to Trabzonspor from the Africa Cup of Nations in emphatic fashion, scoring in their 2-1 home victory over Kasimpasa in the Turkish Super Lig on Friday night.
After four weeks away on international duty with the Super Eagles, the Nigerian forward returned to action as a second-half substitute in the 46th minute, with Trabzonspor looking to cut the gap on league leaders Galatasaray to two points ahead of the weekend fixtures.
Onuachu made an immediate impact, putting the hosts ahead in the 51st minute with a well-taken finish, deceiving his marker with a clever body feint before drilling a low shot into the bottom-right corner. The lead, however, lasted just 10 minutes as Kasimpasa drew level through Fousseni Diabate in the 61st minute.
Trabzonspor eventually secured all three points courtesy of an 84th-minute winner from Oleksandr Zubkov, with fellow substitute Anthony Nwakaeme providing the assist. The victory moves Trabzonspor to within two points of leaders Galatasaray and one point behind second-placed Fenerbahce.
Galatasaray travel to Fatih Karagumruk on Saturday, while Fenerbahce host Goztepe on Sunday. Onuachu’s strike was his 12th of the season in 16 appearances, lifting him to second on the league’s top scorers chart, just one goal behind Istanbul Basaksehir’s Eldor Shomurodov, who has 13 goals from 18 games. Trabzonspor and head coach Fatih Tekke will be buoyed by the return of the 31-year-old striker, whose goals are expected to play a key role in their title push.
