Petersen’s mistake came from tactical ploy that backfired: Chiefs coach Ntseki

Kaizer Chiefs coach Molefi Ntseki says the team and technical staff need to take collective responsibility for a goal conceded in the opening 10 seconds when goalkeeper Brandon Petersen gave the ball away to Mamelodi Sundowns’ Peter Shalulile on Saturday.

The goal, conceded from kickoff to Downs’ Namibian goal ace, put Chiefs under pressure in their MTN8 semifinal away leg, which they lost 2-1, losing the tie 3-2 on aggregate.

Amakhosi will aim to bounce back in their DStv Premiership clash against Sekhukhune United at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Wednesday (7.30pm).

On Saturday, Petersen was left exposed with the ball at his feet by Chiefs’ opening tactical ploy.

From kickoff the ball was played back to the keeper, well out of his area, and with no centrebacks back to support him. The aim was Petersen would look for a long ball to his front runners, who would try to catch Sundowns with an early breakout.

Shalulile used his pace to streak onto Petersen, who seemed to panic on the ball. The Downs striker dispossessed him to race through, though still with work to do, finishing superbly from a tight angle from outside the box on the left, beating Petersen’s desperate attempt at a recovery.

“If you look at the mistake, it started somewhere,” Ntseki said.

“And the mistake can be technical or tactical, and it can also be [the result of the] mental [aspect]. Because if we look at the situation, when we started playing it was more of a tactical ploy, but we knew Sundowns would be putting us under pressure.

“I think, addressing that situation, he [Petersen] could have done better. But he’s fully aware that it was also our tactical ploy on the day. And if it was a tactical ploy, it was not his mistake. It’s a mistake we all made — we own up.

“But the most important thing with Brandon, I think, is he’s a leader. He’s a very strong person. And we’re not looking at it to say, ‘It’s your mistake’.

“We are saying it was a mistake that happened and we did not observe and respect the critical phase [soon after the restart] of the game because we wanted to start on the front foot. If that ball was played forward, we would have started on the front foot.

“It did not happen and in that situation we ended up conceding. So it doesn’t mean we have got so many fingers pointed at each other.”

Chiefs gave Downs a tough outing in the second leg and also had a convincing late penalty appeal in added time turned down by Luxolo Badi.

Amakhosi, with two wins from seven games, are in eighth place in the Premiership as they meet fifth-placed Sekhukhune.