Wydad Casablanca’s Reda el Hajhouji, Recreativo di libolo’s Mamadou Diawara and Enyimba ‘s danger man Mfon Udo are currently locked up at four goals a piece as the race for the coveted golden boot for the 2016 champions League takes Centre stage this weekend.

Heading into the second leg of the first round of the Champions League, the trio have accumulated a sum total of twelve goals between them with St Georges Assefa Behailu and APR defender Abdul Rwatubyaye having three goals and closer to the chasing pack. 

Soka25east looks at the prospects of each of the players and their chances of maintain the tempo  in the rush for the Golden boot accolade replacing African footballer of the year-playing in  Africa Tanzanian Mbwana Samatta. 

Reda el Hajhouji 

The 21 year old Moroccan international will be the key man to watch when his club Wydad Casablanca  takes to the field in the second leg match against Madagascar side CNaPs  in the return leg match. Reda has four goals  so far and his side has a 5-2 advantage heading into the second leg which ultimately looks like a formality. He scored a brace in their last match against CNaPs where the Moroccan giants humiliated CNaPs 5-2.

Mamadou Diawara 

The French player born of Senegalese parents will also be the man to watch when Angolan giants Recreativo di libolo  faces a peculiar task to progress to the second round at the expense of Egyptian giants AL Ahly  who forced a goalless draw in Luanda, Angola. Ironically all his  four goals were scored in the preliminary stage where Recreativo di libolo humiliated Equatorial Guinea side Racing de Misomeseng 9-1 on aggregate. 

He has also scored 5 league goals after 6 appearances in the ongoing Girabola. 

Mfon Udoh 

The Nigerian international who plays for Enyimba was last year’s Nigeria Professional League top scorer with 23 goals and is the mastermind behinds Enyimba’ s  passage to the first round after getting a reality check from Ugandan ambitious club Vipers who carried a 1-0 victory to Aba only to lose on aggregate from an Udoh brace.

Mfon Udoh also scored a brace in Enyimba’s 5-1 demolition of Burundian giants Vital O.

Also on the race so far but may be caught on the receiving end if their teams suffers elimination is St Georges enterprising  goal poacher Benhailu Assefa  who has three goals with a notable brace against defending champions TP Mazembe  where they were held to a 2-2 draw. His other goal was in the preliminaries. He was  named the 2015 Ethiopian footballer of the year. 

The other player that may miss out if their team loses is APR Rwandese international Abdul Rwatabyaye who is perhaps the only defender with three goals so far. He scored a sterling brace in APR’s 4-1 home demolition of Swaziland side Mbabane Swallows.  Despite losing the return leg 0-1 the army outfit qualified for the next round where they carry a 1-2 home loss to Dar es salaam  in readiness for a clash against Yanga in the return leg. 

Other players  in the chasing pack with two goals are as follows 

Bezaghoudi  of  Olympique Khourobiga 

Ma Coulibally  and Mo Coulibally both of Stade Malien 

EL Haddad   of Wydad Casablanca

Idriss Mbombo and Clatous Chota Chama  both of Zesco. 

Mandela  of Horoya 

Sibomana  of APR

Kamusoko of Yanga

Mathlothi  of Kaizer Chiefs 

Nlend of Union Doula Ngundikana oof AS Vita Club. 

Austin Oduor

talking African football