A precocious teenager when he burst on to the scene five years ago, the 24-year-old had been struggling to find the net for AFC Champions League (ACL) side Pakhtakor, who are trying to re-emerge as the premier team in Uzbekistan after being displaced by aggressive Bunyodkor.

But Geynrikh, who has often played second fiddle to Maksim Shatskikh in the national team, has shown renewed signs of life recently and scored Pakhtakor’s first goal in their 2-0 Uzbek League victory over Nasaf in Tashkent.

It was his second goal inside a week. And with Odil Ahmedov scoring the second, the win enabled fallen giants Pakhtakor to leapfrog Nasaf into second place on 17 points, four behind leaders Bunyodkor.

Geynrikh, formerly with the now-defunct Russian team Torpedo Moscow, has an unusual bond with Pakhtakor, preferring to focus more on matches than squad training sessions.

He has failed to score in four ACL matches so far this season but came on as a 53rd-minute substitute against Nasaf and hit the net within nine minutes. Four days earlier, he opened his account for the season in Pakhtakor’s 2-0 away victory over Sogdiana Jizzakh.

However, it is not that he hasn’t contributed to Pakhtakor’s cause. Before the Sogdiana match, five of their seven goals came from Geynrikh assists while the other two were penalties.

But for a genuine striker, it is all about finding the net. And goals in consecutive games is just what Geynrikh needed to boost his confidence as Pakhtakor try to wrest the league title away from upstarts and Tashkent rivals Bunyodkor.

Pakhtakor are flying in the ACL, having already qualified for the last 16 from Group A with 10 points from four matches, including victories over Iran’s Saba Battery (twice) and UAE’s Al Ahli.

Their next ACL match is at home to Al Ahli on May 6 and victory would enhance their chances of winning the group and earning home advantage for the round of 16.

And with Geynrikh finally rediscovering his goal-scoring touch, the forgotten man of Uzbekistan football could make it a season to remember.