PETALING JAYA: When Nelson Bonilla joined Terengganu in the second transfer window in August, he was touted to be their main goalscorer.
But since November, the El Salvadoran international has not scored a goal in the Super League but that run has now ended.
The 34-year-old was one of the goalscorers in the Turtles’ 2-0 win against Negri Sembilan at the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium in Paroi on Sunday.
Bonilla got his goal in the 80th minute when he buried a penalty past Negri goalkeeper Aqil Razak.
The other goal was scored by Uzbekistani midfielder Nurillo Tukhtasinov in the 26th minute with an audacious free kick from 40 metres, which fooled Aqil.
But Bonilla’s goal was something the team looked forward to as they needed a striker to finish off chances, with Croatian striker Ivan Mamut only returning to action next month as he continues recovery after surgery on his Achilles heel.
Coach Badrul Afzan Razali was delighted to see his main man getting the goal.
“Four months without a goal, and to end that drought is a morale booster for Nelson. He had a lot of chances in the previous matches but luck deserted him,” he said.
“Against Negri, he worked hard, had a lot of chances and eventually got one. That would surely be helpful for the rest of the season.”
Badrul was also delighted to see the performance of Ubaidullah Samsul Fazili, who deputised for leftback Alif Zakaria, who is out for the season due to an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury.
“Ubaidullah is our utility man. He can play anywhere. Not easy at his age but he is doing it well. We hope he remains consistent to play as a leftback.
“As for the win against Negri, we were tired after Bangkok (Terengganu played Thai side BG Pathum in the Asean Club Championship on Feb 5) but delivered the points, so I am satisfied with them and also their commitment.
“The second half, we lapsed a little because of fatigue due to the amount of games and travelling. I’ve to thank Syed (Nasrulhaq Syed Bidin) for pulling off several good saves. We fought for the win.”
Meanwhile, Negri coach K. Nanthakumar hopes that the team can defy the odds by winning the next six Super League matches.
“Our attack has to be better. We have six more games, I want to win all six of them. I won’t give up. I will take this game by game.
“We want to see how many points we can collect from these matches.”
Terengganu are fourth in the league with 27 points from 17 matches, while Negri remain 12th with nine points from 18 games.
