Zimpapers Logo

Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter

THE Castle Lager Premier Soccer League promises an exciting Golden Boot race this year with some incredible returns having been witnessed in the first quarter of the season.

Leading the pack is CAPS United forward William Manondo with eight goals from seven games, with Chicken Inn’s rough diamond Brian Muza and Nyasha Chintuli of Manica Diamonds on seven goals each.

Manondo, who scored a brace to propel the Harare giants to a 3-2 win over Herentals on Saturday, has attracted more spotlight to himself ever since he crossed the floor from Harare City. His coach Lloyd Chitembwe hinted there could be more from his striker but warned that he needed to maintain focus in order to realise his full potential this season.

“I am happy for him,” said Chitembwe.

“I am sure this time around he is showing his quality and I am happy for him because he is scoring in almost each and every single game that we play and getting goals from incredible angles and distances and that makes him a complete striker.

“But I just want him to keep focused and concentrate on the job at hand because as long as he is in the game, a lot is expected of him,” said Chitembwe.

The former Harare City man has set himself the ambitious target to surpass the 20-goal mark, a feat that has not been achieved by any Zimbabwean player in over a decade.

Norman Maroto was the last to achieve that when he banged 22 goals for the now-defunct Premiership side Gunners in 2010.

The only man who looked closer to breaking the ceiling was Clive Augusto who had scored 14 goals in 17 matches for Chicken Inn before he left for South Africa, midway through the 2019 season.

In a previous interview, Manondo hinted he needed such a competitive environment to get the best out of his goal-scoring potential.

“Playing for CAPS United is like a dream come true, it’s every player’s wish to play for one of the biggest teams during his career.

“And, I’m happy, so far so good. Before I joined them I challenged myself and told myself that I want to go there and do my best.

“My strength is scoring and I’m good at it so I decided to challenge myself by joining a big club.

“I motivated myself that I could do it and meet the demands of the coach and the club because these teams demand results week in, week out.

“So if you decide to join a big club, it means that you have to work extra hard and if you’re a striker, they expect you to bang in the goals.

“My target is 20 goals this season, it might not happen because it’s football but that’s my target, and I want to try that,” said Manondo.

Chicken Inn’s Muza was not on target at the weekend when they beat Ngezi Platinum Stars 2-0 for the first time at Baobab on Saturday. But the hardworking forward has not taken long to settle in the Premiership in his debut season.

Muza was plucked from Division One side Talen Vision in 2020 but had to wait for over a year to play with the big boys because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Manica Diamonds forward Chintuli continued with his goal-scoring prowess even after shifting base from Ngezi Platinum. The forward scored four goals while with the Mhondoro side and added three more when he arrived in Mutare.