Bruce Djite’s goal scoring woes affecting Adelaide United’s title aspirations

Bruce Djite’s goal scoring woes affecting Adelaide United’s title aspirations [VIDEO]

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The 28-year-old striker is currently experiencing another dry spell with the South Australian club, which could have huge implications on the Reds’ chances of winning an inaugural A-League championship.

Adelaide United forward Bruce Djite has never been recognised for his prolific goal scoring form and this season is proving to be no different. The once Socceroo has again so far failed to reach double figures in a campaign, leaving some fans incensed.

Though at the beginning of the season he appeared to have turned a new page and was showing signs of significant improvement, finding the back-of-the-net with regularity. The inception of the FFA Cup only facilitated his cause with the Washington-born forward using the competition as the impetus to ignite his rediscovered form with Adelaide.

With three goals in the early stages of the tournament and two league strikes within his first three matches, the former Gold Coast man looked to statistically boast his most productive season. However, since then that promising start is only just that – a start. Djite has since struggled to consistently etch his name on the scoresheet and has netted a meager four goals in his previous 17 matches.

Although Djite may find it difficult to score, he does contribute to the team in other ways, such as bringing teammates into the game by holding up the ball. Make no mistake, no one for a second can fault his effort and work-rate. The striker constantly throws his weight around and always provides an outlet for his team.

But Adelaide on-lookers deserve more and are growing increasingly frustrated at the lack of goals converted by one of United’s fan-favourite. A forward’s primary obligation is to score goals and if they are not achieving that on a consistent basis then necessary questions must be asked. Just like Mario Balotelli fittingly put it = “when I score it’s my job, does a postman celebrate when he delivers the post?” The underlying message from the enigmatic Italian is that it is a striker’s responsibility to score goals for the team, and he must deal with that expectation.

The lean run dates back to February 27, where he is scoreless in his last seven games, which simply is not adequate if the Reds are to pose a genuine threat heading into the final series. Djite’s most recent goal derived against cellar-dwellers Western Sydney Wanderers on February 21. And it is not the first time he has endured a barren run in the last couple of years. In this season’s infancy Djite failed to score in four consecutive league games from mid-November to mid-December, and was also fruitless last season for four successive games on two occasions.

Perhaps one reason behind the 28-year-old’s scoring issues is that there is no one realistically keeping him accountable. Djite is the only established target-man in the squad, and therefore there is minimal pressure placed on him if he does not acquit himself well in a game, with no one capable of playing in his position. A lack of competition in certain positions is never ideal and one begs the notion – where would the Reds be in the league standings if they possessed a 15 goal a season forward?

Djite has two games before the finals to try and rectify his deficiencies in front of goal in order to hit some sort of goal scoring form at the most crucial period of the season. A total of nine goals in all competitions, six coming from the league, is rather a scarce return for a top four side. As a result, without Josep Gombau’s out-and-out striker performing Adelaide can virtually kiss its chances of accomplishing a maiden A-League crown goodbye.

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