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Johannesburg - Orlando Pirates head coach Muhsin Ertugral has insisted that the recent international break has helped under fire goalkeeper Felipe Ovono to pick up his confidence between the sticks and that the club is doing all they can to help the Equatorial Guinea shot stopper to move on from his woes of their first two games of the season.
With Brighton Mhlongo reclaiming his spot in the Buccaneers last line of defence in a 2-1 win over Ajax Cape Town on Tuesday, it signalled that it would be the end of the road for Ovono in the Buccaneers’ colours but Ertugral cited that the club did not criticise him for conceding three soft goals so far in the season.
Ertugral hinted that his decision to drop the 23-year-old goal minder was due to the fact that Ovono felt he let the team down in their opening league game against Golden Arrows and the MTN8 quarter-final exit to Bidvest Wits.
“We have not criticised Ovono at all, these things happen to the best of us in football," said Ertugral
“Once you concede a goal as a goalkeeper, mistakes are most likely to follow and that was the case with him.
“He (Ovono) was down because he felt that he let the team down but we rallied around him to pick up his confidence.
“He came back much better from his national team duty because he didn’t concede a single goal there and that would play a crucial part in his recovery.”
