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Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
SURPRISE topflight championship dark horses Black Rhinos’ pair of Stanford “Stix” M’tizwa and defender Sydney Linyama have been named as the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League’s Coach and Player of the Month for May.
Yesteryear midfield great M’tizwa beat the table toppers’ Tonderai Ndiraya of Ngezi Platinum Stars to the gaffer’s accolade despite collecting fewer points in May compared to the Mhondoro outfit.
In May, Black Rhinos, who trail Ngezi Platinum by three points and have a game in hand, played seven games and picked up 14 points.
Rhinos beat Yadah Stars, Dynamos and Bulawayo City with identical 1-0 score lines and buried Hwange 3-0. The army side drew 0-0 against FC Platinum and 1-1 with Triangle.
Rhinos’ only loss in May was 1-2 against How Mine in Bulawayo.
Ndiraya’s Ngezi Platinum, who sit on 26 points from 12 games, won all their five games. They beat Shabanie Mine and Harare City 1-0, ZPC Kariba (2-1), Tsholotsho FC (4-1) and Bulawayo City (3-2).
Ndiraya, who won the April Coach of the Month accolade, missed on a double despite collecting more points than M’tizwa,.
Meanwhile, Linyama’s consistency earned him a national team call-up and the lanky defender is training with the Warriors’ squad that is preparing for a 2019 Afcon qualifier against Liberia at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday.
Bantu Rovers’ skipper and the league’s leading scorer with eight goals, Bukhosi Sibanda, won the Player of the Month award for April.
@ZililoR
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