adminseason.
Nkhatha arrived at Chiefs at the start of the season having been signed from Chidzambwa’s Black Leopards and the former CAPS FC and Free State Stars striker has already impressed at his new club.
The 26-year-old forward scored on his Chiefs debut in the 6-0 rout of Tapuwa Kapini, Carlington Nyadombo and Ramson Zhuwawo’s AmaZulu in the opening league game of the season.
Nkhatha has since then been finding the target with the regularity that is fast endearing himself to the Chiefs fans whose hearts were charmed by his Zimbabwean compatriot Knowledge Musona.
Even his new strike partner at Chiefs — Bafana Bafana forward Bernard Parker — has thrown his weight behind Nkhatha to excel at Amakhosi who had a rare trophyless season in the 2010-2011 term.
But, having worked with him at Leopards and at times at the Warriors, Chidzambwa reckoned that Nkhatha would rise to the occasion at Chiefs and lauded the striker for his work ethic.
Such has been the flying start that Nkhatha has made at Chiefs that his partnership with Parker has also been receiving rave reviews in the South African media.
David Vilakazi, who was assistant coach at Free State Stars when Nkhatha played there, also added his voice in rallying the forward to do well at his new club.
Ironically, Nkhatha and Parker had struck a goal apiece when Chiefs threatened to tear apart Black Leopards in a blistering first 30 minutes at Soccer City last Saturday night before a hailstorm played havoc with the game, forcing the league game to be called off and rescheduled for the same venue tonight.
Chidzambwa, who conceded that they could have been roasted by Chiefs had the match not been abandoned, however, told top-selling South African soccer magazine Kick-Off that he believed in Nkhatha’s capabilities and was confident he would continue to be the same trusted gunslinger who led the Lidhoda Dhuva line of attack last season.
The former Warriors coach pounced on Nkhatha when he appeared to be heading back home to join CAPS United after he had been off-loaded by Free State Stars at the end of the 2011 season.
“We brought him here (at Leopards) to do a job which he did well and that is why we depended a lot on him upfront. He had come from a difficult season at Free State but it never showed.
“He immediately took responsibility of scoring and in the end we looked up to him for goals and inspiration,” Chidzambwa said.
The veteran Warriors’ history-making coach felt that the qualities that Nkhatha showed at Leopards would show at Chiefs again.
“Judging from the Kingston I know and worked with, I expect him to do well. He is disciplined and always willing to learn and these qualities will lead him through.
“The moment you talk to him you can see that that he is listening with interest in what you are saying to him.
“There was never a day when he missed training. He holds up the ball well and he also makes some clever runs. Then factor in that he is a good finisher and knows what to do in the box and you have a recipe for success,’’ Chidzambwa said.
Vilakazi also weighed in with his opinion on Nkhatha.
“Once Kingston gets his confidence up then he delivers because given the chance he will score goals . . . he just needs to get to understand the Chiefs style early.
“Chiefs will enjoy having him because he brings different dimensions. He is also very effective in dead ball situations as he packs a powerful shot and curls the ball well. With Matoho and Gould coming up they should benefit from him in dead ball situations.
“He is the kind of boy who knows what he wants though he would grumble when shouted at for not having understood instructions.
“Once clear about what was expected of him he would give you just what is needed,’’ Vilakazi said.
Vladislav Heric, who was in charge at Leopards for part of last season, is also convinced that Nkhatha will measure up to expectations at Amakhosi.
“With the supply that he will be getting at Chiefs, Nkhatha can even finish top scorer because when you deliver the ball to him it is guaranteed that he always scores. He is a gunman.
“He doesn’t use his energy in unnecessary areas but he knows how to position himself to score. He does have a tendency to be inconsistent but he should still play a crucial role at Chiefs and I think he will surely have a productive partnership with Bernard Parker. All he needs is the luck of avoiding injuries which limited the number of games he played last season.
“I see him having a prosperous career at Chiefs,’’ Heric said.
Kickoff also predicted that Nkhatha would use the experience gained from five years in South African football to easily settle at Chiefs.
“Kaizer Chiefs off-season signing Kingston Nkhatha may not be a very familiar face among many Amakhosi fans but he has been in South Africa for almost fives having touched down in Mzansi in January 2008 to join Free States Stars midway through the 2007/08 season.
“Now after immediately announcing his arrival at Chiefs with a goal on debut in the 6-0 demolition of AmaZulu, Nkhatha has quickly frozen shut the loud mouths of those pessimistic fans that always doubt every foreign player making an entrance at Naturena.
“It is pretty obvious that Nkhatha must score goals and torment opponents to keep winning the hearts of Chiefs fans in yet same way his home-boy Knowledge Musona did and early signals are that he is on that path having already convinced Stuart Baxter he deserves a starting place,’’ wrote Kickoff in their latest edition.
Online Reporter