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Bonne again!. . . as Macca makes his mark

Sport
Warriors striker Maccauley Bonne has experienced a rebirth since joining Leyton Orient in England’s National League, where he has been a hit and now leads the goal-scoring charts.

Warriors striker Maccauley Bonne has experienced a rebirth since joining Leyton Orient in England’s National League, where he has been a hit and now leads the goal-scoring charts.

BY KEVIN MAPASURE

Having struggled to pin down a place in the team at League Two’s Colchester, Bonne made a move to a lower league and the decision has paid off so far, as he has hit top form.

Bonne, who featured for the Warriors in international friendlies against Lesotho and Namibia last month, has so far scored 13 goals for his club, which he joined at the beginning of the season.

He scored four times in the last three matches, helping Leyton Orient move up the ladder in the 24-team league.

Over the Christmas period, Leyton Orient recorded wins over Dagenham & Redbridge (2-0), who currently occupy the last playoff spot, Maidstone (2-0) and Sutton United, who they walloped 4-1, with Bonne claiming a brace.

The 22-year-old is now enjoying his game and has been a revelation for his club who sit 10 points off the play-offs zone.

Leyton Orient have so far recorded eight wins, drawn six times, and lost 12 matches following a difficult start to the season.

While his team will be targeting the playoffs to give themselves a chance to get promoted to the League Two, Bonne is already eyeing the individual accomplishment of claiming the league’s golden boot.

He currently sits at the top of the scoring charts in a tight race, where his closest rival has scored 12 goals this season. His prolific form over the festive period saw him make it into the team of the week in the National League.

And as he continues on a purple patch, he is likely to trigger interest from teams in leagues above the one that he is playing in.

As he left Colchester during the off season, the club’s director of football Tony Humes admitted that the player needed a fresh start to reignite his career.

“Sometimes you have to be fair to a player and let him move on to pastures new. We do have a duty of care to all our young players coming through the system,” Humes told the East Anglian Daily Times.

“Macca has found it difficult to cement a regular place in the first team and we felt it was probably the best thing for him to try and galvanise his career elsewhere.”

Bonne started off at Ipswich Town Academy before he moved to Norwich and later Colchester.

He signed a two-year contract with Leyton Orient and six months into the deal, it is proving to be a wise move.

Bonne will be waiting to see if Warriors coach Sunday Chidzambga will have him in his plans for next year’s 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

The striker played under Wilson Mutekede in the Warriors set-up and the Zifa technical director has since recommended that the player be called up for future assignments.