The star of Alex football shines in the Absa Premiership
Kaizer Chiefs midfielder-cum striker Lebogang Manyama continues to hoist the football flag of Alex high.
Lebogang Manyama, Alexandra’s hottest football property in the Absa Premiership, has been rewarded for his magnificent exploits this season in the gold and black colours of Kaizer Chiefs.
As the premiership action returned after a five-month hiatus due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 global pandemic, Manyama, the 2016/17 Absa Premiership Player of the Season while he was playing for Cape Town City, got the nod for this season’s Goal of the Month award for February.
It was his shear brilliance that earned AmaKhosi a 1?0 win in the Soweto Derby at the end of February. His individual artistry in the build-up to the goal saw him whizz his way past a spaghetti of Pirates defenders before unleashing a powerful low drive from the edge of the 18-yard area into the net.
Manyama’s winning strike, which was among five other equally superb goals from the premiership, was voted for by football supporters who selected his strike as their favourite goal via the Premier Soccer League website.
Other category winners included Maritzburg United coach Eric Tinkler as Coach of the Month for February along with his player, Daylon Claasen as Player of the Month. Just before the Covid-19 lockdown, Tinkler guided the Team of Choice, as Maritzburg is fondly referred to by its avid fans, to four successive wins.
This included the Pietermarizburg side beating title contenders Kaizer Chiefs and Bidvest Wits away from home as well as Stellenbosch FC and Polokwane City. These impressive results moved the Team of Choice to fifth place on the log standings before the resumption of the unfinished season.
For his part, Claasen played an integral role in Maritzburg’s good run of form in those impressive wins.
The stylish playmaker was the key man for his side, scoring four goals and providing a couple of assists in that period.
2019/20 Absa Premiership Goal of the Month winners thus far:
- August 2019: Hlompho Kekana (Mamelodi Sundowns)q September/October: Thabo Nodada (Cape Town City)
- November: Dumisani Zuma (Kaizer Chiefs)q December: Samir Nurkovic (Kaizer Chiefs)
- January 2020: Gabadinho Mhango (Orlando Pirates)
- February/March: Lebogang Manyama (Kaizer Chiefs)
