Riekerink defends City goalkeeper after costly fumble
Cape Town City coach Jan Olde Riekerink refused to blame his goalkeeper Sage Stephens for costing the club a win against Maritzburg United over the weekend.
A visibly disappointed Sage Stephens of Cape Town City after loosing to Chiefs during the Absa Premiership match between Kazier Chiefs and Cape Town City FC at FNB Stadium on February 17, 2018 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by Gallo Images)
A costly blunder by Stephens saw the club play to a 1-1 draw with the Team of Choice.
Stephens, who had to come on to replace injured City’s first-choice goalkeeper Peter Leeuwenburgh conceded a soft goal when he could not hold on to the ball and allowed Maritzburg’s Jeremy Brockie to equalise.
“Sage is a very good goalkeeper. I trust him 100% as a replacement of Peter. Obviously he had to commit. He was unlucky but that was not the reason why we drew the game,” Riekerink said.
“We were very insecure in our passing. We played comfortably, but we made a few mistakes at the beginning of the game. I feel that we didn’t do enough in our transition and our organisation was not good. At 1-0, we expected to win,” he added.
“We haven’t done enough to get away from (the) relegation zone. Our goal is to finish in the top eight. That’s what we are thinking about not relegation,” concluded Riekerink.
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