Stellar line-up this month
It’s time for Phakaaathi’s Player-of-the-Month competition for September, and your chance to win R350 in airtime. Simply pick your favourite out of our four picks that performed at the top of their game in the Premier Soccer League last month, and follow the rules in the competition advert at the bottom of this page to win.
Former Bidvest Wits midfielder Vincent Pule has become a fans’ favourite at Orlando Pirates with his dazzling skills and consistently impressive performances. The midfielder joined the Buccaneers at the start of the season, and his stay at the club so far has been fruitful, becoming a regular member of the starting line-up. Pule doesn’t only show off his skills – his ability to score goals has worked wonders for the team. He has already scored three goals for the club, with his most recent strike coming in their 2-1 victory over Baroka FC, while he also netted against SuperSport last month. He remains one of the only few players at Bucs to have featured in every game so far this season. He was given a call-up to the senior national team for 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Libya, where he made the starting line-up.
Giovanni Solinas best described Khama Billiat’s contribution at Kaizer Chiefs thus: “Barcelona play with 10 players plus Messi. Chiefs play with 10 players plus Billiat.” This may be seen as a divisive statement by some but it is very true. The 27-year-old Zimbabwean has been brilliant since his arrival and has spearheaded the side’s revival. His influence has also seen the likes of Siphelele Ntshangase, Leonardo Castro and Pule Ekstein lift their games as well which helped Chiefs to three wins in a row in September. While Solinas rotated his team, Billiat was an ever-present and started September with a brace against Cape Town City. He provided an assist for Gustavo Paez against Free State Stars and finished with another assist for Siyabonga Ngezana against AmaZulu. Solinas further said Billiat deserves to be playing in Europe.
You may find it difficult to pronounce Cape Town City goalkeeper Peter Leeuwenburgh’s surname for the first time, but you will need just one glance at the Dutchman to see he is a top-notch keeper. Leeuwenburgh was the hero on Saturday for Cape Town City in the MTN8 final against SuperSport United, making two saves in the penalty shootout following another clean sheet in regulation and extra time. En-route to the final, Leeuwenburgh also made key saves in the semifinal, second leg against Mamelodi Sundowns, including two in the shootout as well. He did have an off day against Kaizer Chiefs and conceded four, but because he had a decent performance against Orlando Pirates and went on to win the MTN8 title, we will overlook this. The 24-year-old has made a brilliant start to his City career, with the MTN8 title the cherry on top.
Polokwane City have made a decent start to the season under new head coach Josef Vukusic. The club had an excellent September, in which they won both their league matches 1-0, at home to Free State Stars, and in a far more unlikely fashion, on the road at Bidvest Wits, especially as they had been reduced to 10 men for about 70 minutes. At the heart of that success was Motloung, who made many clearing headers and always appeared to be in the right place as the Clever Boys desperately tried to find a winner, before Jabu Maluleke snatched victory for Rise and Shine. Once part of Kaizer Chiefs’ development side, Motloung has got his chance in the Absa Premiership in the Limpopo province and thus far has taken it with both hands, as part of a City defence that has conceded just one goal in their last four matches.