MARITZBURG'S MONTHLY AWARD WINNERS GIVE CREDIT TO THE TEAM
10 August 2020
Maritzburg United are proud to announce that our head coach Eric Tinkler has won back-to-back coach of the month awards, with midfielder Daylon Claasen also earning accolades for his outstanding performances.
The news was made public by the Premier Soccer League (PSL) on Monday morning, prior to the commencement of the league this week.
Coach Eric and Daylon were joined by Kaizer Chiefs forward Lebogang Manyama, who won goal of the month for his winning goal in the Soweto derby.
Maritzburg United head coach Eric Tinkler and midfielder Daylon Claasen were quick to point out that their personal recognition was also very much a team effort.
The Premier Soccer League (PSL) announced on Monday that coach Eric and Daylon were the respective winners of the Coach and Player of the Month awards for both February and March.
During this time Maritzburg stunned Bidvest Wits and Kaizer Chiefs with away wins in the league, before emphatically beating Stellenbosch FC 3-0 and then dispatching of Polokwane City in a 1-0 victory.
Those results took the Pietermaritzburg-based side up to 39 points and fifth spot on the Absa Premiership standings, just one point behind SuperSport United in third position.
It was the first time in the Team of Choice's history that a player or coach has earned back-to-back consecutive monthly PSL awards.
For coach Eric, the award was all about the acknowledgment of the effort his entire squad was putting in, just ahead of play being suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Obviously it’s great to be rewarded. I thought we performed very well during February and March, achieving very good results, beating Chiefs, beating Wits, fantastic achievement by the team and very proud of the boys, very happy," said Maritzburg's mentor.
Claasen meanwhile has enjoyed an excellent campaign for United and has been making things happen all season with his drive, skill and clever football brain in midfield.
He really came into his own earlier this year with some breathtaking performances, including a brilliantly-taken brace in the 2-1 win over Chiefs, as well as the only goal of the match against Polokwane City at the Harry Gwala Stadium.
The 30-year-old from Klerksdorp was however also quick to praise those around him.
"I'm really grateful and honoured to be chosen as Player Of The month for February and March," Claasen said.
"It was never in my sights to go for individual awards, because it’s a team sport. I can only thank the team for this award, because everyone played so well. Everything clicked for us at the club and that played a part in me winning the award.
"I'm really grateful, but my focus remains towards the team and hopefully we will continue to play as well as we did in February and March."
As Daylon says, the focus right now is on the next game - Maritzburg's first in five months, which is against Black Leopards at the FNB Stadium on Sunday 16 August, 3-30pm.
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