Former Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Avril Phali has tried to explain the reasoning behind the rotating of goalkeepers by The Buccaneers, over the last two games in the DStv Premiership and Caf Champions League.
Former Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Avril Phali has backed coach Jose Riveiro’s decision to rotate his goalkeepers in the last two matches.
Pirates began their Champions League campaign over the weekend when they beat Djabal Club d’Iconi 1-0 in the first leg of their preliminary round tie in Comoros.
Spaniard Riveiro stuck to his pre-match decision that he would tweak his starting XI, making eight changes to the team that drew 1-1 with Chippa United in the Premiership last week.
The changes included between the sticks, as Richard Ofori replaced Sipho Chaine, who had played each of the four domestic matches since the start of the season.
With domestic and continental football being totally different, was Ofori’s selection based on experience or to rest Chaine?
Phali, who had been in such situations during his heyday at Pirates and Jomo Cosmos, explained the decision of Riveiro and goalkeeper coach Tyrone Adams for the clash in Comoros.
“I don’t see that being much of a problem, even though you don’t have to change the goalkeeper and kill their confidence when they are not doing well,” Phali said.
“But in this instance, I think the coach was just checking how ready (Ofori is) to play matches, considering that’s different from training.
“I think it was to check Ofori’s physical and mental fitness.
“The coaches must have seen that Chaine has been doing well since the start of the season, so they wanted to rest him and see Ofori.”
The goalkeeping department doesn’t usually go through changes as players gain momentum by playing week in and week out.
Be that as it may, Phali has urged all goalkeepers to prepare for such eventualities and be ready to play when any opportunity arises.
“As a goalkeeper coach, you must guard against throwing someone in the deep end, like when the No.1 gets injured and that’s only when you introduce someone else,” Phali stated.
Having Pirates’ league clash against Moroka Swallows FC rescheduled on Tuesday night due to the former’s late return to South Africa, it would have been interesting to see who would have started between Chaine and Ofori.
The Sea Robbers will play the second leg of their Champions League preliminary round tie against Djabal on Friday night, with Ofori expected to continue in the starting berth, where he kept a clean sheet.
Phali believes that the division of the workload in the goalkeeping unit should also serve as motivation for new Pirates shot-stopper Melusi Buthelezi to stay ready.
“Football is a funny sport. There are injuries, form and cautions – things that are not predictable. He (Buthelezi) must always stay ready,” he said.
“It’s a good time for Melusi to also see that just because you are not playing regularly doesn’t mean you won’t get a chance somehow.
“You can be called up any time from now, so you must stay on your toes.”
