Middendorp to give fumbling Chiefs keeper another chance

Kaizer Chiefs coach, Ernst Middendorp is probably the most frustrated of them all in the Absa Premiership as he is expected to deliver a trophy at Naturena but his team have become their own worst enemies of late with costly goalkeeping blunders.

When he took over, he had to use Virgil Vries as Itumeleng Khune was out with a long term injury but the Namibian made consecutive errors that forced the side to look elsewhere.

In came Nigerian international Daniel Akpeyi but he also had a horrendous game last weekend, fumbling what looked an easy save to gift Polokwane City an equaliser and a point as the match ended 1-1.

READ: Middendorp raises doubts over Castro’s fitness to be a Chiefs player

While Middendorp admits that he has to look at both ends, and question his strikers’ bluntness, the goalkeeping errors have been too glary to ignore.

“I hope he (Akpeyi) has the right mentality to bounce back and not get affected by it,” said the German mentor on Wednesday morning.

“You expect that there will be mistakes. That was my approach with Virgil Vries too, where I said ‘it can happen, nothing wrong with it next game he plays again’. And he went one or two games and did well and then he made another mistake against Cape Town City and that’s where I came to the conclusion that it’s difficult to accept… but for now we must accept it, and he will start again.

“I am quite convinced that he will recover properly.”

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