Kaizer Chiefs making progress, says coach as he defends Brandon Petersen

Kaizer Chiefs coach Molefi Ntseki expressed his happiness at his team’s progression following a hardfought 2-1 comeback victory over Sekhukhune United on Wednesday night.

Amakhosi stopped a four-game winless streak as they scored two second-half goals to topple Sekhukhune at Moses Mabhida Stadium, restoring faith in the ongoing “rebuild” at the club.

The Naturena club had been through a somewhat sticky patch recently, losing two of their last four matches in all competitions, including the MTN8 semi-final second leg against Mamelodi Sundowns last weekend.

Chiefs had slowly begun to restore belief over recent matches in terms of performances, with their eye-catching display against Sundowns the most memorable.

Speaking to the media after his team beat Sekhukhune, Ntseki expressed his joy at his side making positive strides in recent weeks and revealed how he plans to keep the momentum going.

“I think it’s more of a build-up, if one takes a look at the last three matches we played in terms of the application and implementation of the tactical approach, I think we are progressing,” Ntseki said.

“Even (against Sekhukhune), as much as we conceded first, we showed resilience to get the equalising goal and the winner, but the most important thing is how we address those moments.

“I think the most important thing now is the attitude, the confidence and the courage that we showed today and taking it into the next game.”

The former Bafana Bafana coach raised many eyebrows with his team selection against Sekhukhune as he named under fire goalkeeper Brandon Petersen in his starting XI.

Petersen has been targeted as the main culprit behind Chiefs’ exit from the MTN8, however the technical team have continued to back him as he also holds the captain’s armband, with Itumeleng Khune on the bench and Keagan Dolly still out injured.

Ntseki threw his weight behind the beleaguered shot-stopper, while also opening up about the influence of a recently appointed psychologist at the club.

“When it comes to Brandon, we have had situations like this before. We have had moments where we have lost the game, we have had moments where he saved us,” he said.

“In terms of his quality and being the leader of the team, we stood by him and the goalkeeping department with support from Khune, support from Bruce Bvuma, support from Bontle Molefi and the whole team ... mistakes do happen in football.

“If we always count on the mistakes, we would end up having nobody to play for the team. I think we are very proud of his performance apart from what happened last week and those are things that will happen in the game.”

Chiefs next face Cape Town City at FNB Stadium on Tuesday.