Kaizer Chiefs’ first-choice goalkeeper, Bruce Bvuma, has opened up on his exclusion from the matchday squad in the recent Nedbank Cup final, offering his honest perspective on the decision.
Bvuma was in the stands when Amakhosi claimed a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Orlando Pirates at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi opted to start with Brandon Petersen between the sticks while Fiacre Ntwari was on the bench.
Before the Soweto Derby final, Bvuma was a regular starter in the goalkeeping department for Chiefs. But the Bafana Bafana international has faced a lot of criticism from fans in recent times due to a string of costly mistakes.
As Amakhosi ended their trophy drought against Pirates, Nabi made a bold decision to give Petersen the nod in the final.
Before starting in the big game, the former Bidvest Wits goalie had last played on the 08th of December 2024 when Chiefs suffered a 2-0 loss against Polokwane City FC.
In the current campaign, the 30-year-old has only featured in four matches in all competitions and conceded six goals without keeping a clean sheet.
WHAT BRUCE BVUMA SAID ABOUT THE NEDBANK CUP FINAL SNUB
On the other hand, Bvuma has played 23 games overall. He kept eight clean sheets and conceded 23 goals. Having established himself as a regular starter at the Glamour Boys, the 29-year-old shotstopper says being left out of the final was a ‘good’ thing.
“Of course, every player wants to play in the cup final and in my situation, I played all the past games in the competition [Nedbank Cup],” Bvuma said on Radio 2000.
“At the end of the day, the decision was supposed to be made, and it turns out that it was a good decision. With me, the team comes first, whether I’m playing or not playing, as long as the team is doing well, I’m fine.
“I was disappointed when I was told that I’m not starting, but at the same time, I understood the reasoning and as said, the team comes first. As long as the team is doing well the I’m happy.”
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