A former Kaizer Chiefs head coach has said goalkeeper Brandon Petersen should not carry all the blame for the goals the club has conceded this season.
Johnson said the coaching staff must first look at the whole defensive unit. He spoke after a run of costly errors by Petersen, who is the club captain.
“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.
He said a coach must study the type of goals the team lets in. That includes checking whether goals came from open play or from set pieces.
Petersen’s numbers this season are poor. In seven games, he has kept only one clean sheet and let in eight goals.
Last season his record was much better. He kept 18 clean sheets in 35 matches. That form put him close to a Bafana Bafana call-up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Johnson said a coach must ask where each mistake started. “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,” he said.
He added that goals conceded on the counter-attack point to other problems. “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,” Johnson said.
Johnson said the choice to drop or rest a goalkeeper should come only after a full review of how the team defends.
He pointed to set pieces as one area where Amakhosi may be letting their goalkeepers down. If the defensive line or the marking is wrong, the keeper is often left exposed.
“You can only see, as the analysis will probably tell you, if there is a pattern that we are only conceding against set plays. Therefore, what is the problem with us defending set plays?” Johnson said.
He also asked whether the team had the right players in the right places to close the spaces. He said coaches must check if the goalkeeper himself is well placed for set pieces.
“If I have to change my goalkeeper, I have to look at all those things before I put up my hand and say I have to give you a rest,” Johnson said.
Petersen is now out injured for four to six weeks. Renaldo Leaner, who joined the club in the winter window, has taken his place in goal.
Leaner kept a clean sheet on his debut for Kaizer Chiefs against Golden Arrows.
Source: this article is based on reporting by Goal.com. Image: Goal.com. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Sports desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Tiyani Mathebula writes about sport for Tzaneen Voice. Tiyani covers Bafana Bafana, the Springboks, the Proteas and the PSL, along with athletics, tennis and local club sport. Match reports and previews focus on results, team news, fixtures and what each game means for South African teams and fans.