Kaizer Chiefs had problems getting a reliable goalkeeper in the 2023/24 Premier Soccer League campaign.
Erratic Brandon Petersen was demoted for Itumeleng Khune who later paved the way for Bruce Bvuma. Khune – who had served the club for 25 years, was let go at the end of the season, and Fiacre Ntwari was signed to help Amakhosi get consistency at the back.
However, the Rwanda international has not delivered as anticipated. He has kept just one clean sheet in the seven games played across all competitions, shipping in 11 goals in the process.
In the recent Carling Knockout game against Mamelodi Sundowns, Ntwari was accused of allowing easy goals as the Glamour Boys were eliminated from the annual competition. Former Bafana Bafana and Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper John Tlale now believes it wasn't wise for the Soweto Giants to let the veteran custodian leave.
‘Chiefs need someone like Khune, Ntwari makes a lot of mistakes'
“Kaizer Chiefs is a big team with too much pressure, and as the last line of defense, once you start conceding too many goals, you will lose confidence and start making a lot of mistakes,” the 57-year-old told SNL24.
“You will then end up not [being] competitive and good enough to play for Kaizer Chiefs, you know. That's what puts a goalkeeper under pressure. Ntwari's confidence on Saturday was very, very low. He constantly made mistakes and gave the ball to the opponents very easily, you know.
Well, Ntwari is a good goalkeeper, but Chiefs is a big brand. They need someone like Itumeleng Khune. Also, Khune made counterattacks easily. I believe Chiefs should have allowed these other three goalkeepers to learn from Khune things like how to command the 18-yard area for at least one more season,” Tlale added.
“They should have allowed them to be his understudy, and that could have brought them more confidence.”
It is interesting to see whether coach Nasreddine Nabi will be tempted to make changes to the goalkeeping department in forthcoming matches.
