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Tadious Manyepo
Sports Reporter
ELIE Ilunga has barely been recognisable since leaving Black Rhinos last December.
The Dynamos striker made a murky move to the Glamour Boys when signing a pre-contract two months before the end of his stay at the army side.
He had made a name for himself after scoring 10 goals in a revival season for the Congolese who had spent some time on the fringes at FC Platinum.
The big striker especially captured the imagination of many after scoring what arguably ranked as the best goal in the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League when notching a spectacular goal in a 3-2 loss to Highlanders at Barbourfields.
He was so good at the military team he even managed to gate-crash the Soccer Stars calendar ahead of former teammates Farai Banda and Gareth Madhake.
And Dynamos, whose strike-force was their weakest link in a season they finished third, thought Ilunga would be the answer to their goal-scoring problems.
But 12 matches into the season, Ilunga is yet to open his scoring account.
Game time hasn’t been in short supply with coach Herbert “Jompano” Maruwa who picked him up from the FC Platinum dust bin, has been throwing him into the fray time and again.
His cause hasn’t been helped by his equally blunt striking partners including Makanda, Jayden Bakare and Nyasha Chintuli.
The Congolese is concerned with the current state of affairs, but he reckons he will finally get things right when Dynamos face Black Rhinos, the team that gave him fame, at Bata Stadium on Sunday.
His departure from Black Rhinos, along with other key players left the army team severely weakened and they are currently the weeping boys in the league.
But Ilunga hasn’t done as much as he used to when he was still with the two-time league champions.
“I am feeling strange to face Black Rhinos who are my former employers. But I will take that game like other games. We are preparing for this match, and we need results,” said Ilunga.
“My target is to score. That (Black Rhinos) is where I used to score when I was still playing for them. I have been working on that and I am promising to score”.
Ilunga said he is still hopeful of notching at least 15 goals this season.
“I know it’s not too late as yet. We have played 12 games but look we have more than 20 games before the season comes to an end. My target is to score more than 15 goals.
“I am practicing a lot on my finishing and positioning. Dynamos is a big team and I have been slowly adjusting to the system and I think it’s now time for me to start scoring.
“The match against Black Rhinos gives me a perfect opportunity to open my scoring account. But the team comes first. We need to get the maximum points”.
Fixtures:
Tomorrow: Bulawayo Chiefs v GreenFuel (Luveve), Manica Diamonds v Sheasham (Gibbo), FC Platinum v Chicken Inn (Mandava), Ngezi Platinum Stars v Hwange (Baobab), ZPC Kariba v Yadah (Nyamhunga)
Sunday: Black Rhinos v Dynamos (Bata), CAPS Utd v Highlanders (BF), Triangle v Cranborne Bullets (Gibbo), Herentals v Simba Bhora (Mandava)
Online Reporter