Orlando Pirates and Flames forward Gabadinho Mhango says he is impressed with his debut season after winning his first Golden Boot award in the Absa Premiership.
The 27-year-old moved to the Buccaneers at the beginning of the 2019/20 season after a stint with Bidvest Wits and scored several important goals during his stay.
Prior to his move, social media was awash with mixed reactions, with others questioning as to whether the decision to sign the Malawian was ideal for the Soweto giants.
However, Mhango proved his doubters wrong by scoring 16 goals to share the Golden Boot award with Mamelodi Sundowns-bound Peter Shalulile.
Mhango told the club’s website that he chose to let his boot do the talking instead of paying too much attention to his critics.
“When I joined the Club, I read some comments on the social media about me. Some people were saying why sign Mhango, we need a goal scorer not Mhango and stuff like that. Obviously as players, we try as much as possible to avoid reading negative comments but sometimes its impossible to ignore them,” said Mhango.
He added: “But I believe in myself and that is why I never allowed the negative voices to get into my head.”
According to the former Big Bullets (now Nyasa Big Bullets), Bloemfontein Celtic and Wits striker, his target was to score 15 goals.
“Before the season started, my target was to score 15 goals. I always believed that I have the ability to score goals and I did just that, but credit must also go to my teammates. I am not alone out there on the field; I have quality players around me who made this all possible,” he told Pirates’ website.
On his favourite goal of the season, he singled out his strike against Kaizer Chiefs as his pick of the season.
“All goals are good goals but there are a few that even when you watch them again and again, they leave you saying wow. I would say my goal against Kaizer Chiefs was good. Oh, and the one against Polokwane City. Its something that I have been working on at training. I even like to score similar goals when I am playing FIFA on PlayStation. It’s where I cut onto my right foot and then curl a shot at the top corner,” he explained.
And with the new season around the corner, Mhango says resting is not what he intends to do.
“You can win a Top Goal Scorer’s award but at the end of the day, what matters most is what we achieve as a team. This club is due a trophy and it’s up to all of us to make it happen. I truly believe that with the players that we have, we can achieve whatever we set our minds on,” he concluded.
Mhango scored 11 goals for Wits in his three year stay at the club.
