Johannesburg - Orlando Pirates coach Muhsin Ertugral has backed goalkeeper Felipe Ovono to remain the club’s first choice – for now.
The Equatorial Guinea international was transfer listed last month and even went to Saudi Arabia in the hope of securing a deal with a club there.
Buccaneers fans were, however, surprised to see Brighton Mhlongo, who has been the No.1 goal-minder since the death of Senzo Meyiwa in October 2014, left out of their Absa Premiership league opener against Golden Arrows on Wednesday night with Ovono the preferred choice.
Ertugral has cleared the air this afternoon ahead of their MTN8 quarter-final clash against Bidvest Wits on Saturday night. “It was mistake,” the Bucs coach explained. “Ovono should have never been on the transfer list.
What happened is that I was away in Europe when the club put a few players on the transfer list and in an effort to try make space available for one more foreign player, there was a misunderstanding with Ovono’s situation.”
Pirates beat Arrows 3-1 at Orlando Stadium, with Ovono guilty of gifting the visitors what was an equaliser at the time. But Ertugral is not holding that against him. “He will get chances this season because he has convinced us in training that he is a quality goalkeeper.
He is very good with his feet and can play out of his line – a sweeper keeper as they say in Germany,” the coach said. Asked about competition in the Bucs goalkeeping department, which also includes Jackson Mabokgwane and Siyabonga Mpontshane, Ertugral admitted it was a bit stressful.
“It’s a bit of a headache for me,” he said. “We will have to look at the situation and what the demands are in each game.
"Remember we have Jackson who is a Bafana international as well and Mpontshane, who is a very interesting goalkeeper. People think I am going to leave out Brighton because he wasn’t in the match-day squad last night, but that is not the case. He will get his opportunity when it comes.”
* Buy The Star newspaper on Friday for a deep focus on Gavin Hunt and Ertugral in the build-up to a possibly mouthwatering clash at Bidvest Wits on Saturday night.
@superjourno
Independent Media