Get off Chiefs keepers back

To paraphrase, the general gist is this – Itumeleng Khune must be restored to the Kaizer Chiefs starting line-up with immediate effect! Ernst Middendorp has taken a more sanguine approach, it seems, putting his trust in his goalkeeping department, and I do think Chiefs would be well-advised to be careful not to bow to any public demand, in putting Khune back in as first choice shot-stopper.

The reasons for this are simple. For one, Akpeyi has done an excellent job for Kaizer Chiefs in Khune’s absence, and is a huge reason why they are still so far clear on top of the Absa Premiership.

Goalkeeper’s mistakes come under the microscope more often than other players’, given that it most likely leads to a goal for the opposition more often than the error of a striker, a midfielder, or even a defender, though I don’t have a Harvard study of such at my disposal.

It is too easy to forget the points Akpeyi has saved for Chiefs this season – the Nigerian 33-year-old has kept eight clean sheets in 17 league appearances, conceding just 14 goals. Would Khune, even in his prime, really have done so much better? It is easy to jump out at Akpeyi after his slip against Maritzburg, and forget that it was he who saved a penalty from the very-same Daylon Claasen that helped get Chiefs a point against Maritzburg last December.

The second part of the argument against Khune, is that the Kaizer Chiefs and Bafana Bafana legend (there is no doubt he is both), is a risk to play regularly, given his injury-history of recent times, and there is no evidence thus far that he is back to full fitness.

Khune did start and captain Chiefs in the Nedbank Cup last 32 game against Royal Eagles, and while some of his world-class distribution was on show, for much of the game, he could have sat down, made a cup of tea, and gone on Twitter, or given his new wife Sphelele Makhunga a call, so little threat did Eagles pose to the Amakhosi defence.

There is actually an opportunity for Middendorp to field Khune again, if he decides to stick to the 32 year-old for the cup, with Chiefs visiting Highlands Park in the last 16. Owen Da Gama’s men, however, are likely to pose a very different problem to Amakhosi than Royal Eagles, and Khune would still represent a gamble, that would backfire horribly if say, an error from him led to Chiefs going out of the Nedbank Cup, another chance of knockout silverware disappearing for another season.

Akpeyi, meanwhile, would have every right to feel aggrieved if Khune were then selected for the Soweto derby against Orlando Pirates the following weekend. A keeper’s form has to be judged on a season, and not on one blunder, and the Nigerian has been one of Chiefs’ better performers in the 2019/20 campaign. Akpeyi’s error was also compounded on Saturday by some excellent work from Maritzburg United. To solely blame Akpeyi is to diminish Daylon Claasen’s terrific finish.

I would stick with Akpeyi against Pirates.

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