Nicholson finds net for Charleroi

National striker Shamar Nicholson returned to goalscoring form in the Belgian Jupiler Pro League yesterday.

Nicholson, who failed to score for Jamaica in the recent three-game international window, slammed in the opening goal in the 56th minute as his club, Charleroi, blanked Genk 2-0 to move up to ninth in the standings, with 17 points, on the 18-team table. Royale Union head the table with 22 points.

The 24-year-old, who scored the first two goals for Jamaica in the current Concacaf World Cup qualifying competition, lifted his goal tally in Belgium’s top league to six from just nine games. He also has two assists.

The former Boys’ Town forward’s six goals put him at joint seventh on the goalscorers’ chart in the Jupiler Pro League. Switzerland’s Michael Frey of Antwerp FC leads the way with 12 goals in 11 matches.

This is Nicholson’s third season with Charleroi, and it may well turn out to be his most fruitful. In the 2019-20 season, he scored eight goals in 25 league matches, and the following season, 2020-21, slammed in nine in 33 games. With two-thirds of the season still to be completed, Nicholson could be eyeing as many as 15 goals this season. That would be his highest for a season since he left Boys’ Town for Domzale in Slovenia in 2017. His best return, 13 goals, came in the 2018-19 season of the Slovenia Prva Liga.