Fired-up Manondo seeks redemption
WILLIAM Manondo has admitted that he endured a tough period of poor form while a leg injury compounded the woes in last season’s Castle Lager Premier Soccer League campaign.
The CAPS United forward was a pale shadow of the razor-sharp figure that he was in 2022 when he won the Premiership’s Golden Boot after scoring 17 goals on his way to being voted the Soccer Star runner-up.
Although he did redeem himself towards the end of the term last year managing to net nine times, the former Harare City man barely made a huge impact at the Green Machine.
As he struggled to score, Makepekepe also found it difficult to keep their heads above water as they almost always stepped on shaky relegation ground.
But as Manondo started to give them the goals especially going into the home stretch, Lloyd Chitembwe’s boys looked like a giant again although it was a bit too late to challenge for at least a top-four finish.
The striker is now aiming to start the season the way he finished as he eyes not only the top goal-scorer’s award but also helping the team win silverware this year.
“I should be honest in this regard. Last year wasn’t a very good season for me. I was certainly off-color. I could feel it always no matter how hard I tried,” said Manondo.
“It was one of those very difficult terms that I have faced in my football career.
“That I would also suffer a knock didn’t help matters either.
“I had to live with that double blow being off form while also carrying an injury.
“That means it wasn’t my year, I have to admit that.
“Sometimes I would even come out in the open to discuss it with my coaches who kept on reassuring me that all would be fine.
“I felt comforted but I always felt the pressure of failing to deliver when I was expected to.
“I did start to give the team something, especially towards the end.
“It was of course just too late. But I felt revived and I am aiming to start with the form that I finished last year.
“It’s not too difficult as I see it. I have to put in the work, fight hard, and just stick to my coaches’ instruction”.
The 30-year-old said Makepekepe has what it takes to compete for trophies this coming year.
His quest to redeem himself and help the team win accolades could be helped by the fact that he would be in part drilled by his colleague Rodwell Chinyengetere who is now an assistant player coach at the team.
The two-time Soccer Star of the Year was sidelined by an injury for the better part of last year but he still managed to score 10 goals.
There is a significant number of stakeholders who feel that the former Hwange and FC Platinum player deserved a place in both the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League and the Footballers Union of Zimbabwe’s soccer stars’ calendar.
And for a good reason too.
Even after missing a significant chunk of the first half of the season, the lanky midfielder posted better stats than Dynamos’ Donald Mudadi who FUZ adjudged to be the best player on land in 2023 and the PSL selectors voted the second-best player on land.
He posted better stats than Tanaka Shandirwa also of Dynamos who scored just once and scored as many times with those numbers a mere split fraction of Chinyengetere’s 10 goals and seven assists yet the two play in the same position for their respective teams.
And it is that Chinyengetere whom Manondo will be hoping to tap a lot from as he will have the privilege to play along-side him while he will also be taking instructions from him. “I hope to learn a lot from (Roddy) Chinyengetere.
“He will play a dual role and I think I stand to benefit a lot and improve a lot in my scoring,” said Manondo.
“I think as a team, we will fare well against the other sides who competed strongly last season.
“We don’t have any reason to punch below weight. Our fans should expect a charged CAPS United unit in 2024 which is capable of challenging for silverware in all competitions on offer”.