By MICHAEL MIYOBA
CHIPOLOPOLO striker Fashion Sakala finished the Scottish Premiership with 12 goals after he grabbed a brace in the 3-0 thumping of St Mirren in the final fixture of the season.
Sakala impressed with two fine solo strikes which took the wind out of Mirren who have failed to claim a victory post-split despite finishing in the top six for the first time in 38 years.
Ridvan Yilmaz slipped Sakala down the left, with the Zambian speeding away from his marker, took two touches and beat two defenders inside the box before slotting the ball behind the back of the net.
For his second, Sakala received the ball closer to the halfway and dispatched it from just outside the box and could not be stopped by St Mirren keeper Peter Urminsky who hopelessly watched as the ball squirmed under his body.
After 69 minutes of a man of the match performance, Sakala was withdrawn for Antonio Colak who went on to nod in Rangers third from close range to complete the rout.
Rangers finish on 92 points, seven points behind eventual champs Celtics who finished the championship with 99 points.
Sakala’s brace on Saturday propelled his goal tally in the Scottish championship to 22 goals since he joined Rangers after he scored 10 goals during the 2021/2022 maiden season.
Meanwhile, Chipolopolo midfield genius Klings Kangwa has won the top scorers award after finishing top of the scorers’ chart with three and one assist in the Serbian Cup competition.
Kangwa contributed an assist as Red Star Belgrade came from behind to beat Cukaricki in the final of the competition recently played at the Rajko Mitic Stadium in Belgrade.
In Croatia, Chipolopolo midfielder Emmanuel Banda played a key role as HNK Rijeka secured a place in next season’s UEFA Europa Conference League qualifiers following a 1-1 away draw to ZNK Osijek in the final fixture of their Croatian topflight league.
“Proud of this team. Came when we were down fighting relegation today in the last game we managed to draw and secure a place in next seasons UEFA Conference league qualifications. Happy to have scored a direct Corner,” Banda said after the week 36 fixture.
With his goal having been credited as an own goal by Osijek’s Nail Omerovic, the 25-year-old former Nchanga Rangers player finished the league with a goal and two assists.
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