Former Bafana Bafana goalkeeping coach Alex Heredia believes Kaizer Chiefs’ Bruce Bvuma would have won the Goalkeeper of the Season award were it not for a lack of consistency.
Bvuma is among three goalkeepers that coach Nasreddine Nabi relied on in the past season although he played more games compared to the other two Brandon Petersen and Fiacre Ntwari.
The goalkeeper had a spell when he did so well after a good run of games but some mistakes saw him dropped by coach Nabi and Heredia feels this is when the Chiefs star lost an opportunity to lay claim to the PSL Award.
“There was a moment when I really thought Bvuma would take it hands down,” Heredia told KickOff.
How did Bvuma miss out on the PSL Award?
“But after he committed several serious mistakes, I changed my mind. Chiefs had an absolute disaster of a season, which worked against Bvuma. So for me, the goalkeeper of the season will be Ronwen Williams once again. He has been very solid for Mamelodi Sundowns,” he added, backing Ronwen Williams, who won the award last year.
“Ronwen only misses games due to injuries, not because of poor performance. In my opinion, when a goalkeeper loses their first-choice position, it is usually due to poor performance, as is the case with Bvuma at the moment.”
Heredia also feels Magesi FC goalkeeper Elvis Chipezeze has a legitimate claim for the award but he ranks him third behind Williams and Bvuma.
Ex-Bafana coach also lauds Chipezeze
“To some extent, yes, Chipezeze has done enough to be considered for the Goalkeeper of the Season award. However, the issue is that these goalkeepers lack consistency. He may make a good save one moment and then make a mistake the next,” he said.
“He has crucial lapses in games at crucial moments. Having two good games and one bad game does not convey consistency to me. So while Chipezeze is not bad, he should definitely rank at least third on the list, but he is certainly not number one.”
Bvuma played 23 games for Chiefs last season, 19 in the league, but he was part of a poor team that conceded 32 goals in the PSL and kept seven clean sheets in 28 matches as they finished a disappointing ninth.
