Desperate times: Luphahla hunts for striker as FCP stall

Joel Luphahla says FC Platinum are no longer comfortable playing possession football with goal-shy strikers — and made it plain he is desperately hunting for a finisher ahead of the transfer window.

Luphahla has long lamented his strikers’ struggles in front of goal and indicated his desire to land a prolific goalscorer.

After 17 rounds of fixtures, FC Platinum have scored just 12 goals — a far cry from what the club expected following Luphahla’s arrival in Zvishavane.

Even their foreign signings, including Ghanaian Emmanuel Dogbey and Namibian Mbakondja Tjahikika, have failed to make any impact for the four-time PSL champions.

The other new arrivals — Trevor Bhunu, Tadiwa Muchenje and Mckinnon Mushore — have equally failed to deliver goals regularly for Luphahla’s squad.

Jarrison Selemani, who carried the club on his shoulders last season, is yet to hit the right notes this season after being hamstrung by an injury spell early in the campaign.

FC Platinum leading scorer Garikai Dematsika against Caps United at Rufaro Stadium. Picture by FC Platinum/Facebook

Midfielder Garikai Dematsika, who started the season brightly, has been inconsistent so far, with three goals to his name — making him their leading scorer after 17 matches.

WE’RE NOT TRUSTING OURSELVES SAYS LUPHAHLA

And as it stands, FC Platinum sit eighth on the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League table, with their next task against Ngezi Platinum Stars FC — the team that beat them 2-1 at the start of the season.

“The calmness is what we’re lacking at the moment, especially in the final third. Why? Because we haven’t scored in the final third and the players rush their decisions. In the end, we stop trusting our own technique.

“We’re not trusting ourselves. But I can’t keep saying ‘we’re working on it’ — this is about cementing it the next day. It’s worrying and we need to correct it. If we can’t correct that, we need to go to the market and bring in someone who will trust the plan.

“We’re a positional football team and we’ll get the points we deserve. At least we’re aware of the problem and we’ll make sure we correct it, because at the end of the day we need those points. It’s disappointing — we go out to win, we’re at home, but we don’t take maximum points. Credit to the other team though.”

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