Patrick Mwaungulu, Lanjesi Nkhoma and Yankho Singo have been nominated for the Hubertus Clausius Player of the Month for December.
Inspired by the massive contribution from the nominated trio, FCB Nyasa Big Bullets were unbeaten in six games in December, a run which saw us securing two major silverware, the TNM Super League and the inaugural Castel Challenge Cup.
What our three graduates from the reserves offered to the team in the most critical month of the 2023 season could not be overlooked by our technical panel which picked them to be in the running for the prestigious monthly award. Who gets your vote?
Patrick Mwaungulu
The young creative midfielder, who played four out of our six games in the festive month, was one of the stars that shone the brightest in December.
Mwaungulu opened the month of December with a vital goal against Silver Strikers at the Kamuzu Stadium, a goal that confirmed Bullets as the 2023 TNM Super League champions, winning the title for a fifth successive season.
He missed two matches that followed through injury but made a strong return to the squad to get a brace of assists and a goal against Ekwendeni Hammers in the quarter-finals of the Castel Challenge Cup in a game he won the Man of the Match award at the end of it.
In the semis, Mwaungulu was on target again this time against the big rival Mighty Mukuru Wanderers in a match Kalisto Pasuwa’s men won 4-2 on post-match penalties after it ended 1-1 during normal time.
Remarkably, the golden boy stuck three times and provided two assists in the four appearances he made in December. Such class is what deservedly got him on this three-man nomination list.
Lanjesi Nkhoma
The wing forward enjoyed a fruitful 2023 campaign with us and in December he was simply on fire.
Out of the six matches we played last month, Nkhoma only missed a single fixture, the one against non-league side Soche Socials in the Castel Challenge Cup round of 32.
After bagging a goal and a brace of assists, the silky winger was voted Man of the Match against Civil Service United for inspiring Maule into the quarter-finals of the competition.
In the next match game, Nkhoma also registered an assist to help The People’s Team proceed to the semi-finals where they would meet and defeat their cross-town rivals Mighty Mukuru Wanderers at Kamuzu Stadium.
To finish the month with three assists and two goals, the 26-year-old scored the equalizer against Silver Strikers to force the Castel Challenge Cup final to go into penalty shootouts in Lilongwe where Bullets got their name scribed on the trophy after emerging 4-2 winners.
Such this compelling input from the youngster is simply hard to ignore and his nomination comes as no surprise.
Yankho Singo
Also on the nomination list for the award in November, the central midfielder continued to break into the first XI with solid performances.
He played five of the six matches we played in December, missing only the Soche Socials tie as he was unused on the bench.
After not being involved in action for most of the opening season, Singo had shown grit to be relied upon in big matches.
In games against Silver and as well as the Blantyre derby against the Nomads, the 23-year-old midfielder displayed precocious qualities to make his presence felt in the hurtling midfield battles on such gigantic occasions.
It is his amazing ability to retrieve the ball and make good use of it for the team that has gotten him a place on the nomination list for the December Hubertus Clausius Player of the Month.
How to vote
Pick your outstanding performer by sending POM and the name of the nominee to 441. Each SMS costs MK50 only. The nominee with the highest votes wins the monthly award.
