BEST PLAYERS IN FEBRUARY

MBABANE – The 2022/23 MTN Premier League is proving to be one of the most exciting seasons.

For any player in the league, winning the Player of the Month Award is considered a significant achievement. Green Mamba’s Mxolisi ‘Kudus’ Mkhonto was deservingly named the best player of the month of January. The Times Sports Desk highlights players who will be in contention to win the accolade for the month of February, to be announced in a few week’s time in no particular order.

Njabulo Maziya – Young Buffaloes
 Maziya has been the subject of transfer rumours in the past. He ended the speculations by signing for Young Buffaloes.  However, the player was never distracted in that moment as he continued to bang in the goals. The lethal striker has been able to hit the ground running in the star-studded Mandla ‘Stofu’ Dlamini-led side. Njabulo was able to score two goals on his debut match for the club against Moneni Pirates. This has seen the player scoring three goals in four matches he has played in the month of February. Before leaving his former club, the player had scored one goal in the game against Manzini Sea Birds, which was played on Wednesday after being abandoned in the first half, with Madlenya leading 2-0.

Khethokuhle Mkhontfo – G. Mamba
Green Mamba maintained their cutting-edge in February, as they won all their four games. One player who made sure that the Correctional Services side collected all the three points was defensive midfielder Mkhontfo. The workaholic midfielder has been ever present for the Ernest Mavuso-led side in the month of February. Mkhontfo has played every minute for the log leaders in the past month. He was one of the best players in his team’s four wins in a row in the MTN Premier League. The strong midfielder went on to score two goals to help his team leapfrog Young Buffaloes for the number one spot in that process.

Khanyakwezwe Shabalala – Highlanders
The Mbabane Highlanders shot-stopper has continued to show his quality even this month. Despite the fact that the number one Highlanders goalkeeper has been overlooked for the national team set up by Coach Dominic Kunene, he keeps on shining between the sticks for his club. Shabalala has played all of Highlanders’ games in the past month and has kept three clean sheets in all the matches his side played. The only goal the trusted goalie has conceded in the league was in last week Saturday’s 2-1 win against Madlenya FC which went past him from the penalty spot.

Simanga Masangane – Royal Leopard
The Royal Leopard defender, signed from Vovovo win who was rocked by injuries in the first round, has been able to cement a regular starting berth in the past month which has also seen his team win three of their four games in the MTN Premier League. The young player leaves the month of February with two goals he scored for his team and has been instrumental in Royal Leopard’s turnaround campaign, which has seen the team for the first time since the start of the season conceding few goals in a space of a month. The Edwin Matsebula-coached side conceded only two goals in their last four games and a big instrumental figure has been the man they call ‘Stina’ who has been a rock for ‘Ingwe Mabalala’.

Njabulo ‘Magwegwe’ Magagula – G. Mamba
‘Magwegwe’ played a huge role in his team’s impressive run in the past month. The exciting midfielder who pulls the strings in the Green Mamba set up together with Mxolisi Mkhonto and Khethokuhle Mkhontfo has been a marvel to watch, scoring two goals and assisting a number of goals in the 11 goals that the log leaders have scored in the month of February. The player has been performing exceptionally well in recent weeks and is  one of the players who should be among those who are in contention to take the Player of the Month gong. The exciting midfielder is not only a good dribbler, but has proven to be dependable.

Conclusion
Mbabane Swallows on -form and gifted attacking midfielder Felix ‘Fela’ Badernhorst is not in contention for the prestigious Player of the Month for the month of February. Badernhorst, who is currently leading the top goals scorer charts with 16 league goals and ­ has also won the same accolade for the month of November, has been one of the players who was seriously being considered to take the award for the past month. However, reports suggest that the red card the player got in the game against Tambuti FC has cost him the trophy plus the E6 000 that goes with the award. ‘Fela’ was the key figure in his side’s four wins in the month of February and was able to score four goals in the three games he played. This was the highest number of goals scored by any other player in the league.

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