Kaizer Chiefs coach Molefi Ntseki has given the strongest indication that he will stick with Brandon Petersen as his first-choice goalkeeper despite the player’s recent mistakes.
Brandon Petersen has been under fire after making two costly errors in Chiefs’ last two league matches, against Mamelodi Sundowns and TS Galaxy. However, Ntseki has defended the 28-year-old goalkeeper, saying that he has been doing well for the team overall.
WHY NTSEKI IS STICKING WITH PETERSEN
“Those were mental issues because when you look at his ability as a goalkeeper, he has done very well for the team, even in the past few games,” Ntseki said. “But the concentration levels were a bit down. It’s not only him that made mistakes that led us to lose the game. I think it’s the whole team.”
Ntseki also moved to play down suggestions that he could turn to Itumeleng Khune for the AmaZulu match on Saturday. Khune is one of the most decorated goalkeepers in South African football, but he has been out of favour at Kaizer Chiefs in recent seasons.
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“When one makes a mistake, you don’t just make changes without zooming into the problem and helping out with the problem,” Ntseki said. “You might make changes emotionally. What if the next player makes the same mistake? What is important here is that we’re a professional team, and we’re also treating our players as professionals.”
It remains to be seen whether Ntseki will stick with Petersen for the AmaZulu match, but his comments suggest that the goalkeeper is still in his plans. Petersen will be hoping to put his recent mistakes behind him and prove that he is worthy of being Chiefs’ first-choice goalkeeper.