LINAFOOT: strikers lacking consistency
LINAFOOT's top scorers are struggling for consistency; all of them average fewer than 0.5 goals per game.
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In the DR Congo, the days when one or two players stood out as prolific league goalscorers appear to be over. With the play-offs approaching, there is little prospect of the record of 24 goals in a season, jointly held by Jackson Muleka and Fily Traoré, being broken. The reason is the inconsistency of today's strikers, who are finding it hard to score regularly from game to game.
While the total number of scorers is very encouraging, topping 200, the league's joint top scorers currently have just 7 goals each: Bolaboto Baposila of New Jack FC, and Sylva Tshitenge and Molia Lihozasia of AC Rangers.
Like every other player, the three average fewer than 0.5 goals per game, as their teams have played 16 and 17 matches respectively; a clear illustration of the inconsistency shown by all the league's strikers.
A new breed of goalscorer
With Fily Traoré having left TP Mazembe and the Congolese league, Jephtée Kitambal, one of last season's best scorers with 14 goals, has managed only 5 so far.
After missing a few games at the start of the season, he is only now getting back on track, with a run of three goals in AS Maniema Union's last three games.
There is also a new breed of goalscorer emerging: young players, some of whom are even part of the DR Congo U20 national team, such as Tony Talasi of AF Anges Verts, who already has 6 goals, or Oscar Kabwit of TP Mazembe, who has 5.
There are also goalkeepers who score, such as Alioune Badara Faty, who is now TP Mazembe's go-to penalty taker; he has already converted 4. Another former TP Mazembe goalkeeper, Souleimane Shaïbu, who has been turned into a centre-forward, is taking his new role seriously, with 6 goals already.