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Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
IT is in human nature that we think much of the good luck of the early bird and less of the bad luck of the early worm!
Such is the truism of human existence that is unfolding at Mutare-based Castle Lager Premiership outfit, Manica Diamonds where the early bird — Fortune Bhinzi — has surprised everyone including himself with a fine run that has seen the 25-year-old striker scoring for fun to help the Gem Boys stay in the upper echelons of the log table.
On the flip side of things, 35-year-old Donald Ngoma, who burst onto the scene with so much promise that left fans pregnant with big expectations at the start of the 2023 Castle Lager Premiership, has gone through a lean spell.
Typical of the unlucky early worm, Ngoma is yet to find the net a massive 18 rounds of matches into the season as the former FC Platinum and Triangle top man has literally become obscure in the Manica Diamonds frontline.
At the start of the season, the highly rated Ngoma told Post Sport that he was aiming to score 18 goals.
By scoring 18 times, Ngoma was angling himself for the 2023 Castle Lager Premiership Golden Boot award, given the average number of goals that are being scored by eventual winners of that coveted gong.
Only last season, CAPS United’s William Manondo scored 17 goals to win the top goal scorers’ award.
Perhaps age is getting the better of Ngoma, given that he once banged a total of 23 goals in a season when he was still turning out for Young Africans in Tanzania during the 2015-16 season.
After scoring eight goals so far in the season, Bhinzi was the league’s top goal scorer until recently when Chicken Inn’s Obriel Chirinda surpassed him by one goal.
Chirinda only managed to surpass Bhinzi’s goal scoring tally during the Manica Diamonds striker’s lengthy absence as he was nursing an injury.
While both players — Bhinzi and Ngoma — have been greatly affected by injuries, it is Ngoma who has dismally failed to live up to expectations and at the age of 35, it will be very difficult to see him earning the attention of any serious Premiership club next season.
Be that as it may, his coach, Jairos Tapera believes had it not been because of injuries, Ngoma’s star could have shone brightly.
“Donald Ngoma has been having injury problems, but last week he had a decent game and managed an assist,” said Tapera.
But for a player of his calibre and experience to be remembered for a particular assist, it speaks volumes about how his performance has dwindled in recent times.
On the other side, Bhinzi returned to action last weekend when he was introduced as a second half substitute where he played just 25 minutes.
As the 2023 league season progresses, it remains to be seen how many more goals Bhinzi will score and how many more matches will the ageing Ngoma feature without finding the target.
Current PSL goal scoring chart:
OBRIEL CHIRINDA – CHICKEN INN 9 Goals
FORTUNE BINZI – MANICA DIAMONDS 8 Goals
WILLIAM MANONDO – CAPS UNITED 6 Goals
MICHAEL CHARAMBA – CHICKEN INN 6 Goals
ITAYI BRIGHTON MAKOPA – HWANGE 5 Goals
TAKUNDA BENHURA – NGEZI PLATINUM 5 Goals
WALTER MUSONA- FC PLATINUM 5 Goals
WILSON MENSA – TRIANGLE UNITED 5 Goals
MALVIN HWATA- CHICKEN INN 5 Goals.
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