Mixed fortunes for Gaba, Chawanangwa
It was a weekend of mixed fortunes for South Africa-based Malawian forwards Frank ‘Gabadinho’ Mhango and Chawanangwa Kaonga.
Mhango, who for months has been at the summit of the Premier Soccer League (PSL) scorers’ chart, risks being displaced at the pinnacle as Highlands Park’s Namibian forward Peter Shalulile has now caught up with him on 14 goals.
On the other hand, Kaonga scored his first league goal as TS Sporting held Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila (TTM) to one-all draw in a GladAfrica Championship encounter on Sunday.
Mhango has not scored in seven consecutive matches for the Buccaneers and was not in the starting line-up when Pirates lost 1-0 to Cape Town City.
He was introduced as a 62nd minute substitute, but once again failed to get on the scoresheet.
Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer had hinted at resting Mhango prior to the match to ease pressure on his marksman.
“It’s not easy, you know as a striker you need a certain trust from the coach and it’s not so easy because on the bench we have a good striker or two,” Zinnbauer was quoted as having said by supersport.com.
The other hot contenders for the Lesley Manyathela Golden Boot Award are Kaizer Chiefs’ Samir Nurkovic and Bradley Grobler of SuperSport United who have 13 goals apiece.
Pirates are fifth in the 16-team league with 43 points from 27 matches. They have three games before they wind up the season and their next match is this Saturday when they host third-placed SuperSport United.
Meanwhile, Kaonga’s TS Sporting are not safe from relegation in the second-tier league as they lie third from the bottom with only two matches remaining.
In an interview yesterday, Kaonga expressed relief at finding the back of the net.
“I am happy now, I am hopeful of scoring more. I am also confident that we will survive relegation,” he said.
