The Premier Soccer League has named Eric Tinkler and Peter Shalulile as the DStv Premiership Coach and Player of the Month for April.
Cape Town City coach Eric Tinkler has claimed the April 2022 DStv Premiership Coach of the Month award after guiding the Citizens through the month unbeaten.
The former Bafana Bafana midfielder led his side to three victories and two draws in five April matches, as City moved up to second in the standings, giving his side a strong chance of securing a Caf Champions League spot for the first time in the club’s short history.
The Citizens kicked off the month with an impressive 5-1 win over Baroka FC, then beat Maritzburg United 1-0 away from home. The two victories were followed by draws with high-flying Royal AM and champions Mamelodi Sundowns. Tinkler’s men closed off April with a 2-1 win away at Kaizer Chiefs.
The judges were hugely impressed by Tinkler’s resilience and resolve in grinding out results following a difficult time of losing up to four key senior players in the January transfer window. The Cape side were also able to hold their own and avoided defeat by some of the top sides in the league in April.
Tinkler came out tops ahead of the Sundowns coaching duo Manqoba Mngqithi and Rhulani Mokwena as well as John Maduka of Royal AM, after votes from a panel of media and football experts. This was Tinkler’s fourth monthly award following his first back in 2017.
Peter Shalulile returned for another monthly award accolade with the DStv Premiership Player of the Month for the same period. The Namibia striker impressively scored six goals in Sundowns’ three outings, which were back-to-back hat-tricks in victories over Swallows FC and Golden Arrows in April. Shalulile maintained his great scoring form this season as top goalscorer with 22 goals after 29 matches.
Other notable performances during the month of April included the Citizens duo Craig Martin and Hugo Marquez and Victor Letsoalo of Royal AM.
Meanwhile, Kaizer Chiefs’s Keegan Dolly walked away with the DStv Premiership Goal of the Month award for April, for his free kick against Chippa United. This is Dolly’s second GOM award of the 2021-22 season.