Mikia Kalati
BANTU coach, James Madidilane and midfielder, Lindokuhle Phungulwa, walked away with the Econet Premier league Coach and Player of the Month awards respectively at a ceremony held at Bambatha Tšita Sports Arena on Monday.
Phungulwa received M3500 while Madidilane pocketed M2 500 for winning the accolades.
This follows Bantu’s impressive start to the new season where they went on a four match winning streak without conceding a goal and Phungulwa scored in three successive matches.
Veteran referee, Osias Koto, scooped the Match Official of the Month award.
The awards are an initiative of the premier league sponsors, Econet Lesotho to ensure high levels of professionalism and competitiveness in local football.
“It’s just overwhelming. I just cannot really put it into words, but I am very happy,” Phungulwa told this publication, adding, “I am motivated by the hunger to improve”.
“We have excellent team spirit at Bantu and that made it easy for me to bond and blend with everyone from teammates to coaches. I am very grateful for their support.
“We also thank Econet Lesotho for this initiative to reward outstanding individuals because it brings more competitiveness to the league,” the former Free State Stars youth player said.
Phungulwa was also the Player of the Tournament at last month’s Independence Cup tournament which carried an M6000 winners’ purse.
For his part, Madidilane, who also led the club to the league title in his maiden season, said he was overwhelmed by the accolade.
“The award means a lot to me and I thank the technical team for their support.
“I would not have achieved it without them and it’s a motivation to keep working hard.
“We also thank the sponsors for the initiative because it makes our job easier by motivating players to work extra harder to win such accolades. The level of competitiveness in the league also improves because we are all working hard to win,” he said.
