DEMBARE REJECT FINDS HIS TOUCH AT BIKITA MINERALS

Eddie Chikamhi 

Senior Sports Reporter 

EVANS Katema became a joint leader at the top of the Castle Lager Premiership scoring charts at the weekend after grabbing the equaliser for Premiership new boys Bikita Minerals against Highlanders at Barbourfields. 

The forward appears to be enjoying a rebirth since the acrimonious departure from Dynamos at the beginning of last season.

Ironically, he hits top form at a time when his former paymasters are struggling in front of goal, in a case of the stone that the builder rejected becoming a chief corner stone elsewhere. 

Katema joined Highlanders’ Lynoth Chikuhwa on seven goals. 

Somehow at 35, he still has the competitive edge.  He has scored exactly half the total goals amassed by his team after Week 15. 

“I cannot say I am superior or anything else, but I believe this just goes down to hard work and the coordination with the players around you. 

“We are always complementing one another. 

“I am enjoying playing at Bikita Minerals and I always tell myself that I need to do my best for the club. So, that is the reason I did not set myself any targets this year. 

“I just aim to deliver for the team,” said Katema. 

Thanks to his goals, Bikita Minerals have managed to maintain decent 10th place as the league staggers towards the halfway stage. 

Katema burst onto the top-flight scene in 2019 when he scored seven goals for PSL debutants Mushowani Stars before moving to the Glamour Boys during the mid-season transfer window. 

He continued with his rise and ended the season on 12 goals. 

But he could only manage one goal in the 2021-22 season before the storm that led to his departure. 

Katema was not registered for the 2023 season. As it stands, it looks like he could bag a double figure tally again this season. 

“Everything is possible but I am not looking too far ahead of myself. This is football, you need to take it one game at a time. 

“I don’t think this has to do with me playing at Bikita Minerals. We are not minnows because we are playing in the same league. So, we are also big boys. 

“Every team needs results and it’s about how you apply yourself on the field of play. 

“Dynamos may be struggling for goals, but we all know in football such phases are there. Their time probably will come. 

“They did not let me go, but it was just that my time to move had come. Players everywhere in the world move from one club to another,” he said.