Bloemfontein Celtic had their End of the Season Awards on Sunday to honour their best performers at a glittering function held at the Bloem Spa Hotel in the Free State capital.
The biggest winner on the afternoon was goalkeeper Patrick Tignyemb who deservedly walked away with two top awards.
He will bank R120 000 for being chosen as the Player of the Season (R80 000) and Player’s Player of the Season (R40 000).
“I feel very honoured. It’s a dream come true to win these prestigious awards. There’s nothing special that I did except for working extremely hard. I always made sure that I did my best whenever I was given a chance to play,” Tignyemb tells KickOff.com.
“I want to thank my teammates and everybody who contributed to my success this season. But most importantly I want to thank God for keeping me injury-free throughout the whole season,” he says.
“I don’t know what to say about the supporters of the club. I lack words to thank them because they are wonderful and most passionate supporters in the world. They always supported me when chips were down,” he adds.
The Cameroonian goal minder is one of the reasons Celtic ended the season in a respectable sixth position on the log. Since he was given a chance when his club hosted AmaZulu last September, Tignyemb enjoyed an unbroken 26 match spell as first-choice goalkeeper.
Tignyemb was consistent throughout the season. He also won 11 Absa Premiership Man-of-the-Match Awards during televised games.
“I’m happy about the contribution I made to the club this season. This has been the best season in my football career. Winning these awards will motivate me to double my efforts next season. It’s not easy to get recognition being a goal-stopper,” he says.
Tignyemb disclosed to KickOff.com that he received a call from the Cameroon national team’s goalkeeper coach Jack Songoo to inform him that they were planning to draft him into their squad for the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
“Jack said they will announce the squad on May 11. But I will only be happy when I see my name in that list. He said they have watched most of the games I played for Celtic and they were impressed with my performances.
“It will be a dream come true for me if I get a chance to play in the World Cup. I deserve a call-up after having such a good season with Celtic,” he concludes.
Kickoff
