Last-gasp honour for Zambian

TOP HITMAN: Simukonda almost did not get to kick the stoppage time penalty for Perlis againstMalacca Telekom which made him joint top scorer with Sabah's Brazilian striker Julio CesarRodriguez on 18 goals.

KANGAR: Perlis striker Zacharia Simukonda emulated his Zambian partner Phillimon Chepita's feat of topping the goal scoring chart in his first season in Malaysian football. 

Simukonda's brace in the 4-0 win over Malacca Telekom on Saturday brings his tally to 18 league goals, the same number as Sabah's Brazilian striker Julio Cesar Rodriguez. 

Chepita achieved the feat with 23 goals in his debut season with the Northern Lions in 2003. 

However, Simukonda, who trailed Julio Cesar by two goals heading into the final round of matches, needed a huge dose of luck before becoming the Super League's joint top scorer. 

After scoring his team's opening goal in the 47th minute, the former Lusaka Red Arrows of Zambia striker earned a golden opportunity when the newly-crowned league champions were awarded a penalty in stoppage time. 

However, an ignorant Perlis goalkeeper Mohd Amran Omar almost spoilt it for Simukonda by running the whole length of the pitch and picking up the ball to take the spot kick.  

Only some frantic hand waving and shouts from the Perlis bench alerted the veteran goalkeeper to the situation. And Simukonda, who missed his previous penalty against Penang a week earlier, made no mistake this time to wrap up the 4-0 victory. 

“Yes, I knew that I would make a major impact and score many goals when I joined Perlis this year. But I did not think that I would be the top scorer in the league,” said Simukonda after receiving his Super League winners' medal after the match. 

“Every time I step on the field, I am confident of scoring goals. I even told the coach (Abdul Rahman Ibrahim) that if I don't score for a few successive matches, I am either very sick or badly injured.” 

Winning the Super League title with the Northern Lions more than makes up for Simukonda's disappointment of not joining Perlis much earlier. 

He came for trials in Kangar together with Chepita in 2003 but had to return home after fracturing his leg in training. 

“Winning the league title for Perlis means much more to me than the top scorer award,” said Simukonda. 

“Perlis have never won the top flight league title before and I am very proud and honoured to be part of this history-making side.” 

The Zambian also warned the rival teams that he will continue to deliver the goals in Perlis' defence of the Malaysia Cup title beginning next month. 

“Defending the title will be tough but judging from the way we are playing at the moment, I am confident that we can go all the way and I will play my part to continue scoring goals.” 

Meanwhile, Perlis have identified Ghana's Massaudu Naddah as the replacement for the departing Sierra Leone midfielder Mohd Lamin Conteh. 

The 29-year-old attacking midfielder previously featured for the United Arab Emirates' club side Al-Amriya. Naddah will join Simukonda, Chepita and Brazilian defender Joao Bandoch as the Perlis foreign players for the Malaysia Cup competition.