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Riekerink refuses to lay the blame at Stephens' feet

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Jan Olde Riekerink and Mpho Makola (Gallo Images)
Jan Olde Riekerink and Mpho Makola (Gallo Images)

Cape Town - Cape Town City head coach Jan Olde Riekerink has leapt to the defence of second-choice goalkeeper Sage Stephens after his mistake last week.

The 28-year-old goalkeeper came off the bench against Maritzburg United on Friday, after Peter Leeuwenburgh picked up an injury, and unfortunately failed to hold on to a ball which then fell for Jeremy Brockie who scored to equalise for the Team of Choice.

Riekerink was quick to defend his player and insisted that the 1-1 draw was not his fault.

"Sage is a very good goalkeeper. I trust him 100% as a replacement for Peter. Obviously he had to commit. He was unlucky but that was not the reason why we drew the game," said Riekerink, according to IOL.

"We were very insecure in our passing. We played comfortably, but we made a few mistakes at the beginning of the game. I feel that we didn't do enough in our transition and our organisation was not good. At 1-0, we expected to win.

"We haven't done enough to get away from (the) relegation zone. Our goal is to finish in the top eight. That's what we are thinking about not relegation."

City are currently in 10th position in the Absa Premiership standings, four points clear of the relegation zone.

- TeamTalk Media

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