Goals shy; a real phobia in the PSL

By Herrold Lamola

In a country where one blames the other- allow me to applaud Oscarine Masuluke- for defying the odds and score that spectacular goal that earned him a spot at the Puskas awards held in October.

Masuluke’s goal is not just one of those wonder goals but one of those once in life time incidents. The old adage- keep the best for last- the lanky shot stopper kept his overhead kick for the last minute of the match. Goal scoring is not a problem in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) but goals scorers are. If Masuluke can do it- what makes strikers to fail so dismally? Strikers can surely take a leaf out of Masuluke’s book. He proved that South Africans are capable of doing it.

We can be as optimistic about it- but there is a huge goal scoring crisis in the country now- more than ever. The latest versions of goalless draws have opened the old cans of worms. I think I chose not to see the problem when we had a weekend of goalless draws after an international break somewhere in 2011. My argument was that- instead of criticizing the strikers- why not appreciate the great work done by the goalkeepers? Surely that made sense because goalkeepers are there to keep clean sheets. But now I am on the other side of the fence, shot stoppers are doing their job, what about you goal poachers?

It is unrealistic to expect everyone to agree about everything- but now we all have to agree about the problem we are having as a country. Goal scarcity is a prolonged problem in the PSL. Who can forget the embarrassment we had to endure as soccer lovers in the 2006\07 season- when Chris Kantongo- left Jomo Cosmos in mid-season after rattling the net a mere 15-times; only to return at the end of the season to collect his top goal scorer award. That was a sign of the disastrous future ahead. Like that was not enough- Kaizer Chiefs striker, Bernard Parker, decided to break that record when he netted only ten times to claim the most potent scorer of the 2013\14 season.

Indeed disillusionment destroys our false expectations of perfection. I mean in a lucrative league as the PSL- only five strikes have scored 20+ goals in the 21-years of its existence. Three of those strikers who boasts such records have done so in the past 34-game season; before the teams were trimmed into the current 30-games season. Collins Mbesuma and Siyabonga Nomvethe are the only two strikers who have netted twenty or more goals in this 30-game season. These are just numbers to some but pathetic statistics to the football fans and bosses.

I chose to be a football journalist and columnist- now I have to spend more of my precious time trying to come up with fancy new ways to describe goalless draws. Football is a game of numbers and zero is a favorite of no one. The beautiful game is prettier with more numbers. Score more than your opponent then you’ll come up tops.

The solution to the aforementioned problems is; SAFA must establish academies for strikers because like goalkeepers, strikers require special training.

@Lamola_Herold