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Tadious Manyepo, Sports Reporter
TINO BENZA says he has picked up valuable lessons in England which will help him improve his showing in the second half of the season.
The Herentals striker was on a month-long attachment with an academy in England and missed the opening three games of this phase.
He returned on Sunday morning and headed straight to Zvishavane where his team was playing log leaders FC Platinum at Mandava.
Although the Students lost the match 3-1, Benza gave a good account of himself defensively and offensively.
He was given a standing ovation by FC Platinum fans at the end of the game, even after failing to get a goal which he thoroughly deserved.
And he believes what he learnt in England will benefit Herentals in several ways.
“I would like to thank my dad who is also the club president (Innocent Benza), for allowing me to learn from the best,” he said.
“I was exposed to top-notch training methods and I grasped a lot of concepts. There are things that I learnt which I should always do as a striker.
“Look, every training session, I was learning something because there would be different coaches on board.
“The set-up is very modern and it makes learning very easy. I am very confident that I will start delivering especially in front of goal.”
Benza scored seven goals and notched 10 assists last season as he eased his way on the Soccer Stars of the Year calendar while also defending his Fans Choice Award in the process.
He has found the target once this term and has five assists to his name, almost the same stats he had at this juncture of the race last year.
“I believe that I will better my stats from last season. I am targeting to get double-figure goals and provide as many assists as I can.
“The most important thing at the end of the day is to be a valuable player for the team,” added Benza.
“I am a striker and I should score and provide assists for my teammates.
“Individually though, I should try and improve my showing as a footballer. I need to score goals. That means I should also help my team.”
Benza said Herentals can attain a top-four finish this season if they are focused.
The Students finished sixth last season and they have beefed up their squad, signing experienced players like Blessing Kagudu, Grey Kufandada, and goalkeeper Nedrick Madeya this transfer window.
Online Reporter