Online Reporter
Tadious Manyepo
Zimpapers Sports Hub
ASHWIN KARENGESHA says he is still perfecting the art of scoring spectacular goals despite having already recorded four outrageous ones this season.
The 22-year-old has become the heartbeat of third-placed Ngezi Platinum Stars who still have a mathematical chance of reclaiming the title which they won two years ago.
Such is the midfielder’s brilliance that he has transformed himself into a magician for a team he joined only this year.
Before landing in Mhondoro, Karengesha was largely a fringe player for most of the four years he spent at ZPC Kariba.
But he has suddenly matured and is easily Ngezi Platinum Stars’ find of the season after also putting together nine assists, the most at the platinum miners.
He is only second to Simba Bhora’s Emmanuel Ziocha across the league. Ziocha has 14 assists to his name.
But it is the manner in which Karengesha scores that the whole league is talking.
The player, who was part of the Warriors’ Chan squad believes it’s coming out well but admits he still has a long way to go if he is to continue banging them.
It is something which he said he was taught consistently from his formative years back in Kariba.
Karengesha first made headlines when he powered a howitzer from just outside of the box when scoring the winning goal in Ngezi Platinum Stars’ 2-1 win over CAPS United at Rufaro in May.
The ball was tagged with lighting speed and Harmony Nare, in goals for Makepekepe had no chance and it even led to the release of their former captain Eric Manokore.
A month last Karengesha struck again, this time volleying from 25-yards out, his goal helping down MWOS 3-1 to hand the Punters their first defeat of the season.
The energetic midfielder also hooked perfectly with his weaker left foot against Kwekwe United in the first leg and headed powerfully against the same opponents in the return leg.
Tellingly all of his goals resulted in wins for Ngezi Platinum Stars.
Karengesha said: “Well when I joined the ZPC Kariba junior team, my teammates and the coach always told me that my strength lay in shooting the ball.
“The more they said it, the more I was always trying. I spent a lot of time doing it and the muscle memory developed quite well.
“But I am only starting to see it coming well in the Premiership this season. I am not yet perfect and there are situations that don’t allow you to just shoot.
“So I am still learning the ropes but I am very happy with how I am managing to score long range shots.”
While he is still a newcomer, Karengesha has shown that he is an important member of the squad after playing 27 of the 30 matches played so far.
“I missed a single game through suspension and the other two games I sat on the bench. I am really grateful for the opportunity.
“The Ngezi Platinum environment allows you to excel. The technical team is excellent, and the teammates are also magnificent. That has allowed me to play with a lot of freedom.
“I have always stayed back to fine-tune my shooting. I believe I can manage to perfect the art even better. For now, I cannot say I have done a lot. I am still learning but the season has been so good for me. It’s not easy to play every game at a big team like Ngezi Platinum Stars.”
With four games before the door slams shut on the season, Karengesha said he was looking at adding at least a goal to his tally and adding onto his assists’ stats.
Mathew Masinge