Kaizer Chiefs head coach Fernando Da Cruz has reacted to Brandon Petersen’s costly mistake following the club’s 1-1 draw against Polokwane City.
The 32-year-old goalkeeper was unable to keep out Giovanni Philander’s effort, allowing Polokwane City to equalise and earn a point against Amakhosi.
Speaking after the match, Da Cruz refused to put the blame on Petersen but admitted that he was disappointed with the manner in which Chiefs conceded.
“Yes, for sure, it’s disappointing [to concede like that] because, in the first half, Brandon Petersen made two great saves, but after that, I didn’t see anything,” said Da Cruz.
“We knew that they [Polokwane City] are very good at set pieces and crosses. But when we concede this type of goal, it can be disappointing.”
Da Cruz was pleased with Chiefs’ defensive performance in the first half, pointing out that they had largely prevented Polokwane City from creating clear opportunities.
Petersen not having a good season for Chiefs
“It’s very easy to analyse, before we didn’t make mistakes, we didn’t give chances to the opponents to score,” Da Cruz said.
“But now since Richards Bay, then Siwelele and today Polokwane City, the opponent doesn’t create chances but we make big mistakes and we give opponents the chance to score goals.”
The result sees Kaizer Chiefs drop to fourth place in the standings, with the pressure now likely to increase on Da Cruz to find a solution to the costly individual errors that have plagued the team in recent matches.
Attention will also turn to the goalkeeper position, with Da Cruz now facing a decision over whether to persist with Petersen for Chiefs’ next match or make a change between the posts.