‘Don’t just blame Petersen’: Cavin Johnson defends Chiefs keeper

Former Kaizer Chiefs head coach Cavin Johnson has defended Amakhosi goalkeeper Brandon Petersen.

The Chiefs captain has come under fire this season following a number of costly errors which resulted in goals.

Two weeks ago, the club announced that Petersen was injured in training and had to be replaced by Renaldo Leaner.

Johnson, who coached Petersen between 2023 and 2024, said the Chiefs keeper was not the only player to blame.

“It [changing goalkeepers] boils down to a lot. Who is in front of the goalkeeper? Who is giving instructions in front, in the middle, in defence? And then it gets to the goalkeeper,” Johnson told FARPost.

“So, there are a lot of things you have to take into consideration as a coach. Then you have to analyse the type of goals scored. Were the goals scored from play, or were they scored from set pieces? 

Petersen has come under fire from Chiefs fans this season

“Whether they were scored against the run of play. If they were scored from open play and they got through your defenders, midfielders, and strikers, you have to ask why the mistake was made there,” Johnson added.

“If the mistakes are done when you are pressing high and they score against you on a counter-attack, then you have to know what your rest defence is doing. So, there are a lot of variables taking place.”

Petersen was ruled out for up to six weeks and it remains to be seen if he would be in goals for Chiefs when the FIFA break ends.