The Nigeria international made a costly mistake against Maritzburg United in the league two weeks ago, but the Bucs camp believes he won’t be dropped
Orlando Pirates assistant coach Fadlu Davids expects Daniel Akpeyi to return to goal for Kaizer Chiefs in Saturday’s Soweto Derby.
After much was said about Akpeyi’s ability to help Amakhosi see through what has been a successful league campaign so far, a section of fans turned against their No.1 goalkeeper and skipper Itumeleng Khune following the team’s 5-4 penalty shoot-out loss to Highlands Park last weekend.
As things stand, Chiefs fans are divided on who, between Khune and Akpeyi, should start against the Sea Robbers.
Davids said form is always thrown out of the window when it comes to games of this magnitude, and he doesn’t think Ernst Middendorp will tinker much with his usual starting line-up come Saturday afternoon.
“They have a No.1 which is Akpeyi. I don’t think they will change. I said before, the form doesn’t really matter when it comes to the derby,” Davids told the media.
“That is why we’re not going into the game relaxing because we’ve won a couple of games in a row; that’s not how you approach the game. This is a new slate.”
The former Maritzburg United mentor reiterated the Buccaneers are not thinking about the league title although they are just six points behind their arch-rivals going into this game, albeit having played one game more.
Davids said they are just taking it game by game without worrying too much about the possibility of lifting the league trophy.
“It is [just] a game and we’re not talking about the title race. That’s for Kaizer Chiefs, Sundowns and Bidvest Wits. We are only focusing, as the new coach said, game by game and that’s how we have approached all the games so far,” added Davids.
Be the first to comment