Avatar photo

By Sibongiseni Gumbi

Football Writer


Khune relegated to the bench permanently? Seems so as Hunt says he will not rotate keepers

Kaizer Chiefs coach, Gavin Hunt said he 'doesn't think so' when asked if he would be using a rotation system with goalkeepers as well after he made five changes to the team who beat Chippa United 1-0 on Tuesday evening. 


Hunt had made changes which are seen as brave with the experienced players like Bernard Parker, Willard Katsande and Ramahlwe Mphahlele starting on the bench. But the most notable change was in the goalkeeping department where Daniel Akpeyi replaced Itumeleng Khune, who had a bad game against Mamelodi Sundowns.
“I don’t think so,” said Hunt when asked if he will also be rotating the goalkeeping as well. “The problem is we haven’t had a proper preseason, and Itu just came from a major injury and didn’t play much last season and we have had three weeks of trying to get everybody settled in.
“Daniel obviously had a problem with his work permit and it came through yesterday (Monday) and I felt he was certainly ready to play and felt let’s have a look,” added Hunt.
Hunt was also happy with how his team played on the night where they pinned Chippa United back the entire game and were unlucky not to have scored more than the one goal.
“There were certainly glimpses (of what we want to see) tonight. I thought the shape was much better. But every game will give you a different problem. We created so many good opportunities but we didn’t score, we hit the post I don’t know how many times in the first half which was a little frustrating because you can feel a little tension set in at the end.
“But that’s natural and happens especially after you lose like we did at the weekend. We will take one step forward and take it from there.”
While Hunt was happy with the performance, he said it didn’t mean anything about their upcoming game – an epic MTN8 semifinal against Orlando Pirates on Saturday.
“I don’t think it affects us for the weekend, obviously it gives me a better understanding of some of the players. There were a few eyebrows raised tonight (about the starting line-up) but I knew in my gut that it was the right thing to do. So, let’s see what happens at the weekend.”

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.