While their attack has sputtered, a rock-solid defense led by goalkeeper
Brandon Petersen has quietly positioned Kaizer Chiefs as unexpected dark
horses in the Betway Premiership title race.
Amakhosi sit just three points behind leaders Mamelodi Sundowns with a game
in hand, largely thanks to a defensive unit that has been among the league’s
best. The catalyst for this resurgence has been Petersen, whose stellar form
between the posts is drawing comparisons to the club’s legendary
title-winning goalkeepers.
Petersen’s impact is clear in the numbers. In just ten league matches, he
has already kept seven clean sheets and conceded only five goals—a stark
contrast to the entire previous season, where Chiefs managed only seven
clean sheets in total.
This early-season prowess has already made history; Petersen broke a
47-year-old club record by keeping five consecutive clean sheets from the
start of the campaign, surpassing the mark set by legendary goalkeeper
Joseph ‘Banks’ Setlhodi.
His current trajectory puts him in the company of Itumeleng Khune during his
title-winning years. When Chiefs lifted the trophy under Stuart Baxter in
the 2012/13 season, Khune kept 12 clean sheets. In the 2014/15 title win, he
recorded 15. If Petersen maintains his form, he is on pace to match or even
eclipse these figures.
The defensive solidity has provided a crucial platform for the team,
compensating for a lackluster attack and keeping them firmly in contention.
A last-minute winner from Flavio Silva against Durban City last Friday,
combined with Sundowns and Orlando Pirates drawing, has seen Chiefs creep
into the title picture for the first time in several seasons.
While the prolific clean-sheet numbers of Sundowns’ Ronwen Williams—who
recorded 18 in the 2022/23 season—remain the modern benchmark, Petersen’s
current form suggests that if the defense holds, Kaizer Chiefs could be
contenders for the long haul.
