Online Reporter
Innocent Kurira, Zimpapers Sports Hub
CHICKEN Inn head coach Joey Antipas has bemoaned his side’s ongoing struggles this season, blaming the lack of talented goal scorers as the challenge.
This, he says, extends beyond Chicken Inn and reflects a broader national crisis in Zimbabwean football.
The 2015 Premier Soccer League champions have endured a poor start to the campaign, failing to register a single home win in seven matches following a goalless draw against Triangle at Luveve on Saturday.
The GameCocks have managed just seven goals in thirteen outings while conceding eight, earning a meagre 13 points to leave them languishing in the bottom half of the table.
“We are lacking the killer instinct upfront,” said Antipas.
“If you look at the games we are playing, we have been dominating our opponents, but the goals are not coming. We have to do something in the coming window. We have to try and bring in quality players and see what we can do.”
The seasoned coach pointed to injuries and suspensions as contributing factors.
“We are missing the likes of George Majika, Elshamer Farasi, who are all out due to injury and suspension, but what can we do? We have to soldier on,” he said.
“We are still talking to one or two players we want to bring in because we are struggling in attack.”
Antipas highlighted a worrying trend in Zimbabwean football, where a dearth of elite strikers is becoming increasingly evident.
“We are getting into the right places, but we need a finisher,” he added. “If you look at the results, there are a lot of 0-0 draws and 1-0 wins, so in Zimbabwe, we are lacking top-quality strikers. If you look at it, we have guys like Washington Navaya, who is a veteran player scoring, but the young guys who are coming up are not scoring, so there is a lot of work to do.”
The coach’s comments revive memories of a bygone era when goals were scored freely in the domestic league.
Dynamos legend Moses Chunga remains the benchmark, having netted 30 league goals and 16 in cup competitions in 1986 — the highest tally recorded in a single season after Independence.
That feat earned him the coveted Soccer Star of the Year award, with Mercedes Sibanda and Boy Ndlovu finishing as runners-up.
In more recent history, Highlanders striker Zenzo Moyo had already scored 22 goals by mid-season in 2000 before sealing a move to Paphos Athletic Union in Cyprus. He, too, was crowned Soccer Star of the Year.
Strikers hardly reach the 20-goal milestone, with Takunda Benhura winning the 2023 Golden Boot with 13 goals while Chikuhwa won the accolade with 17 goals last season.
