daniel chigunweTadious Manyepo
Sports Reporter
CASTLE Lager Premier Soccer League leading scorer Fortune Binzi says his consistent deployment as a forward is helping him bang the goals.
The Manica Diamonds striker has set the scoring pace in the top-flight with six goals in eight outings, two above closest pursuers Tafadzwa Jim of Herentals and Hwange’s Brighton Makopa.
And he attributes the scoring form to hard work and his being played in the forward positions.
Binzi is not entirely new in the Premiership as he has seen top-flight action with Mutare City in 2018 and Yadah last season.
And he wasn’t a prolific goal scorer for both teams as he is at Manica Diamonds.
In fact, Binzi scored a single goal for Mutare City in the entire 2018 season while he was on target four times at Yadah between 2021 and 2022.
And he has revealed why he was not always on the scoresheet at his former teams as he is at the moment.
“I have never really played as a striker in my football career. I am a utility man and often I used to play in the wing backs or in the midfield.
“I am just starting to play as an outright forward now and I thank God the goals are coming,” said Binzi.
“I am pleasantly surprised at the rate at which I am scoring. But let me say, I would like to salute my teammates who always challenge me to put in more work.
“Honestly, I used to be very lazy. Yes, lazy. But with the teammates I have at the moment, I tell you, there is no room for laziness. They push me every day and at every turn.
“My coach Jairos Tapera and the entire technical team also push me to work even harder. Once I realised I was very lazy and committed myself to doing the work, everything changed.
“I am seeing a lot of positives in my game and I would like to continue scoring and helping my team to win matches.
“But I am not setting myself any targets. I just want to play well, score goals and help my team win games. That’s how I am looking at everything right now. If I start setting targets, I will lose myself. It’s all about Manica Diamonds, so if I say I want to score so many goals, I will be tempted to be selfish and technically destroy my team.
“The idea is to play well, provide the assists, score the goals, recover the balls, intercept opposition play and help the team achieve their objectives”.
Binzi said he is not feeling out of place playing in the forward positions.
At Mutare City, he would sometimes be deployed as a defender as Evans Chikwaikwai and Kelvin Bingala were the main strikers while Yadah had Kudakwashe Mangami as their point man.
“That means I would play either in midfield or as a defender. But I am now enjoying playing as a striker since I am doing what strikers are supposed to do-scoring and assisting. “Football is a tricky sport so I cannot say I will keep on scoring. I will not be scoring every day, that’s impossible.
“But the best way is to think positively and play positively as well. The ultimate goal is to play a key role to help Manica Diamonds achieve their goals”.
After a false start to the season, Manica Diamonds are gaining traction, thanks to Binzi’s goals and the good overall team performance.
Coach Jairos Tapera overhauled the squad that did duty for the Mutare club last term and he has a new team which is starting to gel.
The diamond miners are fifth on the log with 12 points to their name.
Online Reporter