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JOHANNESBURG. — There appears to be signs in recent matches that Knowledge Musona could be returning to his best form.
After all the hype surrounding his return to Kaizer Chiefs, the Zimbabwean striker has been under pressure to deliver on the expectations of the Amakhosi faithful.
The 23-year-old is still waiting to score his first official goal back in Chiefs colours, although he came very close in the club’s recent 1-1 draw with Moroka Swallows.
He won the penalty which led to Bernard Parker’s opener and caused plenty of problems throughout, with his clever movement and explosiveness catching the eye.
Additionally, there appeared to be real indications against Swallows that Musona could be effective as a roving number nine, with Parker tucked behind him in the number 10 role.
The system seemed to work to Musona’s strengths, and he showed glimpses of the form he produced during his first spell at the club.
A look at our exclusive Soccer-Laduma stats from the Swallows game appears to show the striker’s growing influence at Chiefs.
He was involved in Chiefs’ build-up play a lot more as he completed 28 passes. This is higher than the league average of 19.8 passes made per game for PSL strikers.
He was also very effective at finding space in the heavily defended final third. He made 11.1 entries with the ball into the area.
This compares very well against the PSL strikers’ league average of 5.2 entries.
However, where Musona’s numbers drop off is in his shooting stats. Against the Dube Birds his shooting accuracy was just 25%, as he hit the target just once in four attempts.
This compares to the PSL strikers’ league average of 41% in the same category.
Our exclusive stats appear to prove what Stuart Baxter has been stating. The English coach believes Musona is a great talent, and it’s only a matter of time and a little bit of luck before he starts scoring goals for Chiefs.
The numbers do show this, because he’s getting into advanced areas at a high rate. All that seems to be missing is the final finish, and this is something that comes with time and confidence.
Former Chiefs striker Fani Madida believes Musona will bang in the goals and have another successful season at Naturena.
The Zimbabwean netted 20 goals in his first season with Amakhosi, but has now gone 307 minutes without scoring since his return.
Madida scored 34 goals in 1991 for Amakhosi and played in the great side that won the League and Cup Double in 1992. Now the former marksman is pleading with fans and the media to be patient and give the Zimbabwean international a chance.
“People must be patient; the League has barely started and people are already talking about Musona,” Madida tells KickOff.com.
“Let’s relax . . . when Musona joined Chiefs the first time it took him a couple of matches before he found his goalscoring touch. Once he did, he was unstoppable. We all know that Musona is a quality striker; he is composed inside the box and he has great skill. There is no doubt that he will score goals.”
Chiefs’ next match is a tricky encounter away to SuperSport United. — Soccer Laduma/KickOff.
Online Reporter