Former Kaizer Chiefs coach Cavin Johnson believes the club’s ongoing goalkeeping struggles cannot be blamed on Brandon Petersen alone, insisting the root of the problem lies far deeper within the squad.
Petersen is currently injured, but before that, he was under the spotlight after howlers in the MTN8 quarter-final clash with Golden Arrows and a Betway Premiership tie against Richards Bay FC. The Chiefs captain made another costly error in a league match against Polokwane City FC, his last before the Soweto giants announced he was injured and needs four to six weeks of recovery.
Winter signing Renaldo Leaner then stepped in to make his official Chiefs debut in a goalless league match against Arrows last weekend. With Leaner beginning with a clean sheet, he has stoked interest to see if he will impress during Petersen’s time out.
That would see Da Cruz facing a decision whether to continue with Leaner or turn back to Petersen when the Amakhosi skipper returns to full fitness. This comes as the Frenchman also has Bruce Bvuma and Takalani Mazhamba as other goalkeeping options.
JOHNSON INTERROGATES FACTORS CHIEFS NEED TO CONSIDER ON BRANDON PETERSEN
In the seven games he has played so far this season, Petersen has managed just one clean sheet, while conceding eight goals. That places him in a difficult position to match last season’s 18 clean sheets in 35 matches, a record which almost earned him a Bafana Bafana ticket to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
In dissecting Petersen’s recent blunders, Johnson believes the issue demands a collective solution involving all departments of the Amakhosi team.
“It [changing goalkeepers] boils down to a lot. Who is in front of the goalkeeper? Who is giving instructions in front, in the middle, in defence? And then it gets to the goalkeeper,” Johnson told FARPost. “So, there are a lot of things you have to take into consideration as a coach. Then you have to analyse the type of goals scored. Were the goals scored from play, or were they scored from set pieces?
“Whether they were scored against the run of play. If they were scored from open play and they got through your defenders, midfielders, and strikers, you have to ask why the mistake was made there.
“If the mistakes are done when you are pressing high and they score against you on a counter-attack, then you have to know what your rest defence is doing. So, there are a lot of variables taking place.”
CAVIN JOHNSON ASKS FURTHER QUESTIONS IN DISSECTING HOW KAIZER CHIEFS CONCEDE GOALS
The veteran coach also offered a tactical analysis he feels could help Amakhosi lock things up at the back before thinking about goalkeeping changes.
“You can only see, as the analysis will probably tell you, if there is a pattern that we are only conceding against set plays. Therefore, what is the problem with us defending set plays?” Johnson went on.
“Are we setting up our rest defence in set pieces the right way? Do we have the right players in the right place to close all the spaces? Is the goalkeeper in the right position to defend those set pieces? So you have to look at all those things, then you have to separate them from set plays, counter-attacks, rest defence, to defence of play.
“Those are the things I would do if I had to change my goalkeeper. If I have to change my goalkeeper, I have to look at all those things before I put up my hand and say I have to give you a rest because of one, two, three, four.”
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