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Nigeria's Paul Onuachu has reacted after being slammed by fans for his poor performance against West Ham
Super Eagles star Paul Onuachu missed chances to secure a result in Ivan Juric’s first match in charge of the Saints with West Ham’s 10 men doing enough to earn three points.
Following the game, Onuachu was backed by Juric, who believes the Nigerian striker will break his Southampton duck soon.
Onuachu lacks impact as Southampton lose to West Ham
Despite putting in a lot of effort to get into the right positions against West Ham, Onuachu's finishing fell short as the Saints were defeated at home.
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The Nigerian forward attempted eight shots against West Ham, the most by any player in a single Premier League match this season, but failed to score.
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Onuachu had three big chances but missed them all, much to the chagrin of Southampton fans and Southampton eventually paid the price for Onuachu’s misses as Jarrod Bowen eventually scored the game-winning goal with the Hammers already down to 10 men.
‘Disappointed’ Onuachu gets managers backing
Despite the misses and fans’ backlash, Onuachu kept his head up after the game, telling journalists, “Sometimes I feel so disappointed that I haven't got a goal for the fans. I will keep working for the fans."
Speaking after the game, Southampton boss Juric told the Daily Echo: "Onuachu scored goals in Belgium every year, 20 goals. In Turkey, it's the same thing. It's not the same thing playing in Turkey and Belgium compared to England.
"But it's not one year that he scored 20 goals. I believe that he can do it. What I saw in these training sessions, he has his own characteristics.
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"Long ball, keep the ball, the head is strong. It's normal that he's not the fastest player in the world, but in some games, I think he can do it well.”
Onuachu’s search for a first Southampton goal continues after two years and 22 appearances in all competitions, but the Nigerian appears closer to breaking his duck with the backing of his new boss.
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