Nigerian Nwoha Onyekachi has shown signs of improvement but he will have to shine in more matches if he wants to remain a Kelantan player come April.
Coach Bojan Hodak said Onyekachi played well when he came on as a second-half substitute during the team’s 3-2 FA Cup win over Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.
“Nwoha did well tactically. He’s improving and the fans realise this as they were cheering for him when he came on,” said Hodak.
“This is probably because he is finally settling in with his team-mates. He played top level football before coming here. Unfortunately, he suffered a bad injury. I also found out that he hadn’t been playing competitive football after recovering.
“The question now is whether he is good enough to stay with the team.”
Onyekachi made his debut in the Super League match against Selangor at Shah Alam Stadium last month which Kelantan lost 2-1.
The Nigerian’s appearance was a surprise not only to the fans but also to ex-coach Peter Butler, who claimed that he was unaware Kelantan had signed Onyekachi.
The Englishman lashed out at the Kelantan management and it led to the termination of his contract last month.
In the following match, against Sarawak in the FA Cup, Onyekachi was unimpressive and was booed by the home fans when he was subbed.
Kelantan have three other imports – Nigerian centreback Obinna Nwaneri, Lebanese striker Mohd Ghaddar Mahmoud and Ghanaian midfielder Dennis Antwi.
Ghaddar and Antwi are only eligible to play for Kelantan in the AFC Cup.
Hodak was critical of his defence for letting in two goals against Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.
“KL didn’t have many chances but a lack of concentration by the defence allowed them to score two goals. These things shouldn’t happen to teams that are at the top of the league. Instead of a comfortable 3-0 win, the match ended 3-2,” said Hodak.
Kelantan will face Kuala Lumpur SPA in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
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