ZIMBABWE football legend Moses “Bambo” Chunga is worried about the drying up of goals in the top flight league after the 2024 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League top goal scorer Lynoth Chikuhwa scored 17 goals the whole season.
Chikuhwa, who is the Castle Lager Soccer Star of the Year first runner-up, was honoured with the Golden Boot for scoring 17 goals for Highlanders with his team finishing sixth in the top flight league.
Chunga, who scored 46 goals for Dynamos at the peak of his playing days in 1986, is not amused at all.
Former champions Ngezi Platinum Stars, the highest scorers in the 2024 season, had 46 goals in the bag, ending the season in third position.
Chunga took to his social media platform to share his views.
“The 2024 top goal scorer (Chikuhwa) finished with 17 goals in 34 games, [the] second scored 13 (Khama Billiat, Yadah) the third and fourth scored 12 each (William Manondo, Caps and Takunda Benhura, Ngezi Platinum Stars). The champions of the PSL 2024 (Simba Bhora) scored 39 goals in 34 games. The team with most goals was Ngezi with 46 goals in 34 games. I am deeply worried that our football is not really going the way it should. I would have loved to see more goals from the top four teams as well as from the top goal scorers,” Chunga said.
The Warriors’ legend added: “In my playing days, as a third runner up to the golden boot, I scored 19 goals. In the other season as the second runner up, I scored 21 goals. There were only 14 teams in the league, so we would play 26 games. My best was when I scored 46 goals in one season, a record which no one has broken post-Independence. My secret to being a goal scoring machine was practice. I would practise taking corner kicks and free kicks. I would even practise taking penalties. A player is as good as they train. I don't know why our players are not scoring more goals. Is it the player who is not training hard enough? Is it the coach who is failing to prepare the team? Is it the administration that is not availing proper resources for the team?”
Local strikers have failed to breach the 20-goal mark in the recent past.
The last player to breach that mark was Norman Maroto who netted 22 goals while turning out for Gunners in the 2010 season.
Chipo Tsodzo scored 20 goals at Masvingo United in 2001.
Highlanders’ legendary striker Zenzo Moyo won the Golden Boot in 2000 with 22 goals while Alois Bunjira scored 23 goals in half the season at Caps in 1996, remaining one of the most prolific strikers in the league in terms of goals per game ratio.
Benhura won the Golden Boot last year with 13 goals while Manondo scored 17 in the 2022 season to get the honours.