Onuachu and Nwaiwu lead Trabzonspor to victory

Chibuike Nwaiwu scored his first two goals in Turkish football while star striker Paul Onuachu added a goal and an assist in Trabzonspor’s 3-1 Süper Lig victory over Fatih Karagümrük on Friday.

While Onuachu is a regular sight on the scorers’ list for the Black Sea coast club, Nwaiwu earned the spotlight this time around as the Nigerian duo shined. Acquired from Austrian Bundesliga club Wolfsberger in the January transfer window, the former Enyimba defender has been stellar and showed his aerial prowess on the opposite end with two headed goals.

In the first half, it was towering striker Onuachu who kicked off the scoring in the 20th minute. Ozan Tufan combined with the midfield to find plenty of space on the right wing and his lofted cross was perfect for the giant forward to nod in. The goal extended Onuachu’s lead at the top of the league’s scoring chart to two goals.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Trabzonspor (@trabzonspor)

Visitors Karagümrük, currently languishing at the foot of the table, did show some resistance when Italian forward Daniele Verde equalized before the half hour mark to leave the teams level at halftime.

But it was an unlikely source of goals who rose to the occasion to confirm victory for the third place team, who displayed their set piece brilliance.

Tufan arrived at the near post in the 47th minute to flick on a corner kick and Nwaiwu was open at the far post to finish with a diving header. Three minutes later, another excellent corner kick service found Onuachu, whose flick header found compatriot Nwaiwu at the far post for the final touch to complete his brace.

Nwaiwu: An instant fit with Trabzonspor

Nwaiwu has started all nine matches at his new club since arriving in January, experiencing defeat only once while winning seven times. Trabzonspor move to within four points of league leaders Galatasaray and two points of second place Fenerbahçe. Their next match comes in the Turkish Cup on Tuesday when they face İstanbul Başakşehir.