Hunt, Josephs wrap up Absa Premiership monthly awards
@ Backpagepix
Gavin Hunt and Moeneeb Josephs continued their celebrations of winning the 2016/17 Absa Premiership title by clinching the final Absa Premiership Coach and Player of the Month awards of the campaign, for May 2017.The Bidvest Wits coach and goalkeeper were honoured during the monthly media event hosted at the Premier Soccer League offices on Wednesday morning.
Four key victories over Mamelodi Sundowns, Orlando Pirates, Maritzburg United and Polokwane City in May ensured the Clever Boys won their first league title since the inception of the club in 1921.
The judging panel made up of football broadcasters, football analysts and past players, praised Hunt for using his experience to manage the team well and having got them to play direct, winning football during this period. The judges also noted how the four-time league winning coach got his side to grind out results against very difficult oppositions during a critical point in the season in their title chase.
Platinum Stars’ coach Cavin Johnson, Clinton Larsen of Golden Arrows and Fadlu Davids, the April Coach of the Month recipient and Maritzburg United coach, received a special mention from the judges for their efforts during the month of May.
Meanwhile, Josephs, a two-time league winner during his days at Orlando Pirates, became the second goalkeeper to clinch the individual player award in the 2016/17 season after Dennis Onyango of Mamelodi Sundowns won the award for April. The Cape Town-born shot stopper pipped other strong candidates such as teammates Thulani Hlatswayo and Thabang Monare, Mamelodi Sundowns striker Yannick Zakri and Kurt Leintjies of Maritzburg United, to the award.
The three-time Absa Premiership winning goalkeeper was praised for the calmness and stability he brought into the Wits’ defence during a tough period of the season, as the club faced some tricky games. During the four matches he played in May, ‘Slim Kat’ went 270 minutes unbeaten, meaning he kept three clean sheets in three consecutive matches, as Wits collected nine points in the process to go on top of the Absa Premiership log standings.
As proud sponsors of the Absa Premiership, Absa, congratulates Hunt and Josephs on winning the award for May and all the other players and coaches to have won the monthly awards during the exciting, nail-biting season.
