Brandon Petersen’s mistakes blamed on ‘poor’ Kaizer Chiefs decision

Kaizer Chiefs have been criticised for making a blunder that has led to the drop in form for goalkeeper Brandon Petersen.

Petersen has not been the reliable presence between the sticks that he was for Chiefs last season, with just one clean sheet in six games so far this term.

His shaky display has included blunders against Golden Arrows and Richards Bay, which proved costly for Amakhosi, bringing him into the spotlight and adding unnecessary pressure on a player who was the club’s best performer last season.

Former Chiefs goalkeeper William Shongwe feels this could be down to the club’s decision to part ways with highly popular goalkeeper trainer Ilyes Mzoughi, who was not retained when co-coaches Cedric Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef left the Soweto giants.

Mzoughi turned Petersen into a ‘beast’

Mzoughi enjoyed a good relationship with Chiefs goalkeepers and it was during his second year at the club that his work started to be felt when Petersen pulled off world class saves that put him in the frame for a Bafana Bafana call-up.

“Obviously now people will start looking at the coach [Ilyes Mzoughi] and say maybe he was good for him,” Shongwe told FARPost, insisting new coach Fernando da Cruz should have retained the Tunisian.

“Yes, without a doubt [Da Cruz should have kept Mzoughi]. I actually thought they were going to keep him. I would have kept him because you can see he has a good relationship with the goalkeepers, and there was a good understanding there.

Chiefs slammed for poor coaching decision

“It’s a pity, obviously, that he didn’t stay. For sure, Chiefs should have been kept. Keeping him would have been [ideal], unless the new head coach had other ideas. You know, when these coaches come, they want to bring their own staff.”

With a new coaching team at Naturena, Petersen is now learning under goalkeeper trainer Olivier Sorin but the early days to their time together suggest the student is still struggling to grasp the new set of instructions.

Petersen was a major reason for Chiefs finishing in third position last season, their best in six years, as he did not just manage 18 clean sheets in the league but came up with crucial saves that won his team many points.