Durban – Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa questioned the fairness of the PSL awards, as he made public his shock at not being nominated for the Goalkeeper of the Season award this season.
Meyiwa finally got his chance to prove to the doubters when Moeneeb Josephs left Pirates to join Bidvest Wits at the end of last season.
And the 26-year-old feels he did enough this past season to at least get a nomination for an award.
Kaizer Chiefs’ Itumeleng Khune, Moeneeb Josephs of Bidvest Wits and Ajax Cape Town’s Annsi Jaakkola were the nominees for the Goalkeeper of the Season award.
Meyiwa, who played 51 matches this season including the CAF Champions League, had a shaky period in January and the beginning of February, but bounced back to lead the Buccaneers to glory in the Nedbank Cup. The ’keeper conceded 20 goals in 28 appearances in the league.
“When I look at my performances this season, it’s so unfortunate that I am not one of the nominees for Goalkeeper of the Season.
“And that’s where I saw that there is no fairness in South African football, because I played most of the games in the PSL.
“I need to make it clear,” he said after the Buccaneers’ 3-1 victory over Wits in the Nedbank Cup final here on Saturday.
“I played in all the tournaments. I do not know their criteria for nomination ... how they select is beyond me. It’s killing us as players. It’s not fair.
“But it’s football, it’s part of the game,” added Meyiwa, who then expressed his disappointment of not being part of Gordon Igesund’s original Bafana Bafana squad going to play Australia and New Zealand this month, although there could still be some changes to the team.
“We played in the Champions League, but there were only a few Pirates players in the squad. I wanted to be part of the (Bafana) team.
“I compete with the No1 goalkeeper from Ghana (Fatau Dauda) at my team and I put him on the bench.
“He is a great goalkeeper so I had to make sure I keep my position in the team. There is no favouritism. I do not know how they (the national team) are doing things. I will just continue to do my best.”
Meyiwa said he was determined to prove he is the best goalkeeper in the country, after being an understudy to Josephs for a long time.
“It was a great feeling playing against someone who put me on the bench for a very long time, for almost three years. So I wanted to do my best and show people that I am a good goalkeeper.
“Only one ’keeper can play. Moeneeb was doing well when he was at Pirates, so when I got my chance I grabbed it.
“He is always joking and he is motivating. When I see him on the other side, I want to win against him.”
Meyiwa, born in Umlazi, KwaZulu-Natal, was in his home province for the Nedbank Cup and was pleased to have some of his family members watching from the stands as he put in a solid performance.
“My family were here to support me. It was a great feeling winning this tournament,” he said. - The Star