Ndlovu sets the scene alight on foreign soil

DINO Ndlovu bagged his 12th goal of the season for Azerbaijan club Qarabag on Sunday to help his side move four points clear at the top of the league table.

Ndlovu was not considered for the recent Bafana Bafana squad that played against Guinea-Bissau and Angola‚ but has been South Africa’s most potent forward abroad for the past two seasons.

If you include last year’s spell at Cypriot side Anorthosis Famagusta‚ he has now scored 30 goals in his last 53 starts‚ a very healthy return.

The 27-year-old has two massive games coming up this week as well.

Qarabag play in the second leg of their Azerbaijan Cup semifinal against Neftçi tomorrow and lead 2-0 from first leg, in which Ndlovu also scored. They face championship rivals Qabala on Sunday where victory will give them a seven-point lead at the top of the table‚ which would seem unassailable, given they have conceded just 12 goals in 24 matches to date.

Lebogang Phiri was on target for his Danish side, Brondby, at the weekend‚ netting his first goal of the campaign in a 3-2 home win.

Brondby look destined for second place this campaign.

Kermit Erasmus came on for the final 20 minutes of French Ligue 2 side Lens’ 2-0 loss to promotion rivals Brest that saw them knocked off top spot.

But young national U23 striker, Lebo Mothiba, made his first ever professional start in France when he played for Ligue 2 Valenciennes in a 1-0 loss at Nimes.

He will hope it is the first of many. Another of the Bafana Bafana players returning from national team duty‚ Keagan Dolly, did not get on for Montpellier as they lost 1-0 at home to Toulouse.

Andile Jali (Oostende) and Lars Veldwijk (Kortrijk) did not feature at all for their Belgian sides‚ while Luther Singh was Sporting Braga B.

Kamohelo Mokotjo featured for Dutch side FC Twente as they were surprising 2-1 losers at home to Go Ahead Eagles.

Bongani Zungu‚ who did not make that last Bafana squad‚ helped Vitoria Guimaraes to a 2-1 victory over Nacional in Portugal.

May Mahlangu was left disappointed after his Romanian side Dinamo Bucharest lost their local derby to Steaua Bucharest 2-1‚ with the midfielder playing the first 80 minutes.

Tokelo Rantie did not feature at all for Turkish side Genclerbirligi‚ while junior international, Tyroane Sandows, came off the bench for Brazilian side Gremio in their 2-1 loss at São Paulo RS. — TMG also rested by