Johannesburg - Bonfils-Caleb Bimenyimana has been Kaizer Chiefs’ main man, scoring six goals in his last three Premiership starts, but he has not been put under pressure to score in every game.
Chiefs had a slow start to the league, that saw them languish in the bottom half of the standings - to the joy of their detractors and rivals.
But Amakhosi are now starting to gel, so much so that they have won their last three games, climbing to fourth on the log.
That purple-patch has been inspired by Burundian striker Bimenyimana who has scored six goals in his last three starts, including converting four penalties.
Three of Bimenyima's penalties were against Stellenbosch FC last week, where they won 3-1, as he became the first player in the PSL to score a hat-trick of penalties.
Chiefs will head into their next clash against Chippa United at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday, hoping that Bimenyima can lead them to another win.
But Sifiso Hlanti says the towering striker is under no pressure to carry the team alone, as he needs his teammates’ support as well.
“We can’t put him under pressure as players. He needs our support as well,” Hlanti said.
Caleb Bimenyimana netted a hattrick of penalties – writing himself into the history books in the process as the first player to achieve the feat since the inception of the Premier Soccer League in 1996-97
— Kaizer Chiefs (@KaizerChiefs) October 11, 2022
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“I believe that we have good offensive players who can score as many goals as they want. We’ve already shown the character to support one another.
“And to do things in the right way. So, it’s a matter of time. If Caleb feels like he wants to score more goals, then he needs support from all of us.”
While Bimenyima has been flourishing up front, his teammate and, arguably Chiefs’ marquee signing during the close season, Ashley Du Preez has been enduring a goal drought.
Du Preez's last goal was against his former employers Stellenbosch in the MTN8 quarter-finals in August. He also failed to impress in his Bafana Bafana debut last month.
But having been around the block for some time, Hlanti, 32, has no doubt that Du Preez, 25, will be back among the goals sooner rather than later.
“It’s true that things haven't been going well for him, but it’s up to us. We are the key and the ones who need to give him support and courage,” Hlanti said.
“We know that in this game of football such things happen. And it depends at that point in time, what it is that you want and which support you get.
“The key factor for us is the character. We support one another. The things that he does here in training shows a positive sign going forward in matches.
“In the games that we've played, we’ve played collectively as a team. We give support to everyone. The support we get from the coaches is also amazing."