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Gaba two shy

Malawian forward Frank ‘Gabadihno’ Mhango continues to hog the limelight in the South African top-flight league where he is now two goals shy of the leading scorer in the South African top-flight league

On Saturday, the prolific Flames striker struck a beauty against his former club Bloemfontein Celtic in a league match which ended one-all to take his tally to seven.

Peter Shalulile of Highlands Park leads the scorers’ chart with nine goals.

Gabadinho has taken his tally to seven

But in an interview from his Johannesburg base yesterday, Mhango was a model of humility, playing down his goal-scoring prowess.

“The priority is that the team does well other than personal glory. We are over 10 points behind leaders Kaizer Chiefs and we need to work extra hard if we are to catch up,” he said.

Asked how he feels closing in on the leading scorer, Mhango said: “It is not something that I have thought about really, but I it is encouraging to realise how close I am.

“So, hopefully, I can continue scoring,” he said.

Mhango scored a brace for Pirates in their previous game before the festive season break when they saw-off his compatriot Robert Ng’ambi’s Black Leopards in new coach Josef Zinnbauer’s debut.

On Saturday, the Buccaneers surged ahead in the 15th minute when  Mhango tapped underneath Jackson Mabokgwane from the far side after a one-two with Vincent Pule.

However, Celtic equalised  when Siphelele Luthuli curled into the top corner 10 minutes to full time following a ball from the edge of the area.

As of yesterday, Pirates were fifth with 35 points from 15 matches, 14 points behind leaders Chiefs.

Former Pirates’ Malawian midfielder Ernest ‘Wire’ Mtawali was recently quoted by www.kickoff.com as having said that there is still more to come from  Mhango. “That’s the typical Gabadihno. He has so much talent. At his age [27], I think he is now at his peak. He is at the right club and this is a big break for him,” he said.

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