THOHOYANDOU – The coach of Black Leopards Football Club, Mr Ephraim “Shakes” Mashaba, is worried about the fact that his team is still lacking in as far as converting chances into goals is concerned. He was reacting to his team’s performance against Kaizer Chiefs in their Telkom Charity Cup semifinal match that was played at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg last Saturday.

When asked about his impression about the whole game, the former national team coach was quick to mention that his team should have scored more than three goals before the half-time whistle was blown. According to him, all his strikers were down and out throughout the game.

He stated that all the players who came close to scoring in that game are midfielders. “It was like we did not have strikers, as none of them made any attempt in the game,” he said. He stated that he was going to sit down with the management of the team to shape up their way forward.

Mashaba indicated that the acquisition of one or two quality strikers will be a solution to the problem. He added that, apart from the two goal-poachers that are needed as a matter of urgency, his defence needs to be beefed up as well. According to him, his defenders conceded two silly goals.

When asked about his goalkeeping department, Mashaba stated that both his keepers know their job and are committed to do it. “Don’t blame my goalkeepers for the two goals we conceded against Chiefs; they came as a result of poor defence,” he said.

Black Leopards are heading for Bloemfontein this weekend. They will play their first league match against the newly promoted Bloemfontein Celtic at the Seisa Ramabodu Stadium on Sunday. Mashaba is confident that they will come back with full points, despite all the odds.