After being made aware by Sowetan that he’s one goal shy of matching the club’s all-time goalscoring record, Cape Town City star Surprise Ralani has set his sights on being the leading scorer in the Citizens’ brief history.

Ralani has found the back of the net 16 times in City colours, putting him in second place behind Kermit Erasmus, who netted a goal more before he was sold to Mamelodi Sundowns in October last year.

“To be honest I didn’t even know about this statistic, but it would be very nice to be the club’s all-time top scorer. Now that you mention it, it’s actually something to look forward to in the coming weeks. I will definitely go for it,” Ralani told Sowetan.

City were formed in 2016 through the takeover of Mpumalanga Black Aces' franchise. Ralani joined them from Swedish second tier side Helsingborgs IF in January 2018. The Kimberley-born ace has since garnered 109 appearances for the Mother City outfit.

At 34, Ralani isn't showing any signs of regressing and the City star has made it clear he has not thought about hanging up his boots yet. Ralani attributes his maturity and longevity to his love for the game of football.

“Honestly no! That [the idea of retiring] has not crossed my mind for one second. I am still just enjoying myself to the full length of my career. I want to enjoy every moment of it while I can before I start thinking about life after football,” Ralani emphasised.

“The passion, my brother, the love and passion I have for the sport since I was just a little kid has not left my veins as yet, hence there is no slowing down.”

Having played a telling role in City’s 2018/19 MTN8 triumph, his only trophy as a pro, Ralani is in line to add his second trophy when City face Mamelodi Sundowns in the final of the same competition at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on October 30.

Even so, the City dynamo has given a sense their focus wasn’t yet on the Wafa Wafa trophy as they still have to play Golden Arrows in the league on Saturday, having been inconsistent in the DStv Premiership of late.

“If you look at our position on the log now, it’s worrying to us. But then again the final is once-off and winning it is definitely one of the team’s goals. As much as we want the trophy in the cabinet, we also want to make sure we are up there in the league.”