He and the rest of his Stellenbosch side are in top form right now
RYAN Moon is happy to have scored goals for Stellenbosch FC in the Absa Premiership but is far from satisfied with his contributions.
The 23-year-old former Kaizer Chiefs striker linked up with the Winelands-based outfit in August and not having had a pre-season meant the South Africa international had to work that much harder to grab the attention of head coach Steve Barker.
That he certainly has done as time ticked by.
“I’ve think I’ve settled in now,” said Moon. “I had a lot of catching up to do. I’m now coming back to peak form and want to make better contributions to the team.
“I would like to score more goals in the last 10 league games plus the Nedbank Cup games.
“But for me the most important thing is the team and helping them secure Premiership status and then push for a top eight placing.
“It’s been great to get some wins under our belt,” he added.
“Three games ago everybody had written us off and now we managed to win three in a row and are in (mid-table) eighth position in the standings. I think because we are always pushing each other to be better and not being complacent.”
Moon is one of three forwards Barker can call on, along with Waseem Isaacs and Iqraam Rayners.
The trio have combined for 15 of Stellies’ 19 goals with Isaacs on seven, Rayners five and Moon three.
“I think the three of us are doing really well now and we feed off each other, which is good for the team,” Moon said.
“It’s not only one person scoring goals or assisting it’s a joint team effort which is good so I hope we can continue the good work and improve with this partnership.”
Barker is chuffed with Moon’s play.
“Ryan is really coming on nicely. Unfortunately he didn’t have a full pre-season with us, he joined us late, so it took a while for him to get back to full fitness and sharpness but recently he has shown his qualities .
“He’s a great character, great personality, hard-working and gives his best in training and in matches. He’s really good for the team in that regard.
“Playing wise, he’s also added a lot of quality to us, he’s aerially one of the best players that I have seen. He’s not playing in his ideal position right now.
“He is wide on the right but coming in as a second striker whenever possible.”
Barker’s boys are away to Black Leopards on Sunday chasing a club record fourth straight league win.
The club completed the signing of Zambian international midfielder Nathan Zinkala on a 17-month contract from Congolese outfit TP Mazembe yesterday.
It’s their fourth signing during this January transfer window. The 29-year-old with 53 national caps has won the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup titles.
