AFTER a slow start to the South African Premier Soccer League season this year, Warriors striker Tendai Ndoro appears to be finding his feet at Mpumalanga Black Aces after scoring a brace at the weekend that took his goal tally in the league to five goals.
ZIMBABWEANS ABROAD WITH HENRY MHARA
The former Chicken Inn man made a storming start to like in the SuperDiski when he joined Amaziyoni midway through the season last year, and went on to score seven goals, just three shy of the eventual Golden Boot winner Bernard Parker.
Thus a lot was naturally expected from him this year. However, he has not made the ideal start, and before last weekend, he had scored a meagre three goals in 15 appearances for his club.
But a brace on Saturday as Aces came from two goals down to force a 2-2 draw, has brought him back in line for the Golden boot award this season. With five goals, he is the highest Zimbabwean scorer in the Premiership, together with Mamelodi Sundowns’ Cuthbert Malajila. The duo is two goals behind the early pacesetter.
Khama Billiat is not far off the pace, as his equaliser for Mamelodi Sundowns in the 1-1 draw against Washington Arubi’s Pretoria University on Saturday was his fourth of the season.
It was Billiat’s fourth goal in a row, and if he can maintain this rich vein of form, he would easily run away with the Leslie Manyathela Golden Boot award. The speedy winger had a false start to the season due to an injury and has played in just eight games this season.
Maritzburg United’s Terrence Mandaza has got two goals while Kaizer Chiefs’ Kingston Nkhata has one in 16 matches, the same number as Sundowns’ Kuda Mahachi and University of Pretoria’s defender Patson Jaure.
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Nkhata’s low conversion rate has seen him clashing with his club supporters who continue to boo him.
Incredibly, Chiefs has stood behind the beleaguered Warriors man.
The team’s coach Stuart Baxter has continuously retained the striker in the starting line-up, much to the chagrin of a section of the boo-brigade.
Baxter even threatened to leave his post after Nkhata was again targeted by the supporters in the 1-0 win over Chippa United in Polokwane on Saturday.
The Briton said straight after the game: “I am very tired of it, I’m tired of it. Do I want to continue pushing at a club where you don’t know if your best players are going to be depressed because of it?
“Maybe the decision is I don’t want to be,” said Baxer.
Chiefs team captain Tefu Mashamaite has also lent his support to Baxter and Nkhatha, taking to Facebook to say: “It feels good to be around Polokwane and it’s not good to play any game at Peter Mokaba Stadium due to our fans. Please stop booing at us. #TM23”
Despite the booing, Chiefs sit pretty at the top of the standings, 13 points clear after rivals Bidvest Wits, Mamelodi Sundowns and Ajax Cape Town all slipped up.
Kaizer Chiefs football manager Bobby Motaung says everyone at the club is upset with the constant booing of players.
“Look, I didn’t hear the coach’s comments because I was at the stadium and didn’t see the TV interview. But everybody is upset with this contstant thing and people who are doing it are not true Kaizer Chiefs supporters.
“We have already won one cup this season, we are doing well in the League so I don’t understand why our players have to be constantly subjected to this. We really need to address this because we are all disappointed.”
There was very little action for the Warriors players in Europe with most league having paused for the Christmas holidays.
Some of the few Zimbabweans players who were in action over the weekend include Netherlands based Marvellous Nakamba.
The Young Warriors midfielder was an injury time substitute when his side Vitesse allowed Groningen to snatch a point in a 1-1 draw. It was Vitesse’s third draw on the bounce and stretches their winless streak in the league to six matches and the run has seen them slipping to 12th position, just four places above the relegation play-off point.
