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Pirates duo scoop monthly PSL award

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Orlando Pirates duo Josef Zinnbauer and forward Gabadinho Mhango have been named Absa Premiership Coach and Player of the Month for January, respectively.

Coach of the Month: Josef Zinnbauer (Orlando Pirates)

The German-born coach only joined the Buccaneers in December and has made an immediate impact, with the Soweto giants currently sitting in second place on the Absa Premiership log.

In the voting period Zinnbauer, 49, guided Orlando Pirates to four wins out of five matches played. He beat opponents Polokwane City, Mamelodi Sundowns, Highlands Park and AmaZulu, with his team scoring 10 goals in the process.

The judging panel led by coach and analyst Farouk Khan praised Zinnbauer for turning around the team’s fortunes and making them Absa Premiership title contenders. They commended him for instilling an exciting and fearless style of play into a side that has also seen an improvement of their previously leaky defence.

Player of the Month: Gabadinho Mhango (Orlando Pirates)

The Buccaneers went unbeaten throughout January thanks, partly, to the six goals in five matches from striker Gabadinho Mhango.

The Malawian kicked off the month with a hat-trick away to Polokwane City and then secured wins over champions Sundowns and Highlands Park, respectively. His terrific scoring form in January has had him score a total of 14 goals this season so far, making him the leading goal-scorer going into the final stretch of the league.

For winning the monthly awards, Zinnbauer and Mhango will each receive R5,000 from Absa.