Onuachu, however, picked up a yellow card and will miss this weekend’s crucial clash against Wilfred Ndidi’s Beşiktaş.
By Kehinde Okeowo
Nigerian striker, Paul Onuachu, played an unusual role as a defender for his Turkish club, Trabzonspor, on Sunday in their 2-1 away win over Göztepe in a league fixture.
The forward was deployed to the defense by his coach after Trabzonspor were reduced to ten men in the 78th minute.
The visitors had taken a two-goal lead earlier in the match, courtesy of a brace from Ernest Muci in the 46th and 76th minutes.
However, Trabzonspor’s right-back, Wagner Pina, was shown a straight red card in the 78th minute, prompting manager Fatih Tekke to deploy Onuachu as a center-back.
Although the Nigerian international and his teammates held on for the win, they conceded a goal in the 86th minute when A Denis scored for the hosts.
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Onuachu, who had received a yellow card in the 73rd minute, was impressive in his new role, recording eleven clearances while conceding just two fouls.
However, the striker, who is currently leading the goal-scoring chart in the Super Lig with 11 goals, will serve a one-match ban, having accumulated three yellow cards in previous matches.
Speaking after the match, Coach Tekke justified his decision to move the striker into the defense.
”We were down to 10 men. There was no fullback, there was no center-back. We were forced to move Onuachu into defense.”
Due to the ban, Onuachu is set to miss this weekend’s crucial clash against Wilfred Ndidi’s Beşiktaş.
