Paul Onuachu found the net for Southampton, but his goal was not enough to prevent the Saints from falling to a 2-1 home defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League on Saturday, Soccernet.ng reports.
The Nigerian striker, left out of the Super Eagles squad for this month’s World Cup qualifiers, delivered a timely reminder of his quality with a late strike at St Mary’s. However, it proved to be nothing more than a consolation as Wolves took all three points.
Joergen Strand Larsen was the hero for the visitors, scoring twice to leave Southampton in deeper relegation trouble.
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The Norwegian forward opened the scoring in the 19th minute with a well-placed header before doubling Wolves’ advantage early in the second half with a superb long-range strike from outside the box.
Southampton struggled to break down the Wolves defence but finally pulled one back in the 75th minute.
Onuachu reacted quickest to a loose ball in the box, slotting home from close range with his left foot to give the home fans a glimmer of hope. However, Wolves held firm to claim victory.
While the defeat leaves Southampton battling for survival, Onuachu’s goal serves as a personal statement following his omission from Eric Chelle’s Super Eagles squad.
The 30-year-old had been named in Nigeria’s provisional 39-man list for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and Zimbabwe.
However, when the final 23-man squad was announced, Chelle opted for Victor Osimhen, Tolu Arokodare, and Umar Sadiq as his preferred central strikers, leaving Onuachu out.
With his latest performance, Onuachu has given the Super Eagles coaching staff something to think about as he continues to make his case for a return to the national team.
