Zenzo Moyo tips Chikuhwa for Golden Boot

FORMER Highlanders striker Zenzo Moyo has tipped Lynoth Chikuhwa to win the Golden Boot award this season while also condoning the culture of comparing the yesteryear striker to the modern day gunslinger.

Chikuhwa was on target for Bosso in their 2-0 win over Arenel on Wednesday stretching his goal tally this season to 11, same as Khama Billiat and William Manondo. Simba Bhora’s Tymon Machope is on 10 goals.

Machope’s teammate Walter Musona completes the list of the top five leading scorers with nine goals.

Moyo says Chikuhwa and the rest of the other strikers must not feel the pressure of breaching the 20-goal mark, a feat last achieved by Norman Maroto in 2010.

“One of the things we need to stop doing is comparing generations. The culture places loads of unnecessary pressure on the players. A lot has changed from the time I was playing. In my generation we had good midfielders who would feed us clean balls. It’s different now. These guys are on 11 goals, it shows you that they are doing something right.

“We must stop saying Zenzo scored so many goals so these boys are not good. What these boys need is support, not these comparisons.

“I would love to see Chikuhwa win the Golden Boot award because as things stand, chances of silverware for the club are slim and for him to win this will be good for the club. Individually as well, it will do him a lot of good,” said Moyo.

Warriors and Dynamos legend Moses Chunga holds the record for the most goals scored in a single season.

He is said to have scored 46 goals, a tally that is yet to be matched by any player since 1986.

In that year, Chunga was crowned the Soccer Star of the Year. His goals comprised 10 double strikes and three hat-tricks while the pair of Mercedes Sibanda and Boy Ndlovu were the runners-up on that Soccer Stars podium.

Chunga scored 30 league goals and 16 cup goals.

By mid-season in the year 2000, Highlanders FC gunslinger Moyo had already scored 22 goals before moving abroad to join his new club Olympiakos Nicosia in Cyprus.

The goals that the then pencil-slim striker scored helped the Bulawayo giants win the league title with a two-point cushion ahead of the now defunct town rival AmaZulu.

Bosso had a big goal difference, with all the credit going to Moyo, who went on to be crowned Player of the Season after playing just above half of the campaign.

In 2009 Evans Chikwaikwai was the top scorer with 23 goals.

In the last decade no player has managed to breach the 20 goal mark.

It’s a feat that has not been achieved by any Zimbabwean player in over a decade but that now appears impossible.

Maroto was the last to achieve that when he banged 22 goals for Gunners in 2010.

Last season, Takunda Benhura won the golden boot with 13 goals while Manondo won the award in 2022 with 17 goals.
-@innocentskizoe