Kaizer Chiefs of South Africa goalkeeper, Daniel Akpeyi has received another dose of relevance and encouragement in The Rainbow Nation, as the Super Eagles’ shot-stopper that is largely vilified by Nigerian football fans has piled a long line of matches in which he did not concede a goal, such that he is being rated as ‘the master of clean-sheets’ with his club.
Megasportsarena.com gathered that the former Heartland of Owerri and Warri Wolves of Delta State keeper has helped Kaizer Chiefs stay top of the Premier Soccer League (PSL) table for a long while and they also have the second-best defensive record so far this season.
This has been attributed to Akpeyi’s ability to coordinate his defence line, while also putting up sterling form, to help the club retain top spot on the log with 48 points from 22 matches, during which he has come to be virtually error-free in the first half of the season.
It would be recalled that Akpeyi saved a penalty during the 2019 Telkom Knockout competition’s quarter-finals’ match against Orlando Pirates at Moses Mabhida Stadium on November 2, 2019, as he put up astonishing performances that marked the turnaround for him at club level, which was at variance with his shaky performances for Nigeria at last year’s Africa Cup of Nations.
A report by FCNaija added: “The flaks got really intense after his failure to tactically arrange his wall during set-pieces against eventual winners, Algeria in the semi-finals, his sudden rise to becoming the top candidate for Absa Golden Gloves award speaks volumes how well he has mastered his craft after his elementary errors in Egypt.
“Renowned for his melancholic traits between the sticks, Akpeyi has become more authoritative when barking out orders between the sticks. More importantly, he deserves lots of accolades for his mastery of the local Zulu language.
“While The Amakhosi’s safest pair of hands cannot be completely absolved of blames since joining the club in January last year, it is noteworthy that he has since set the tone for other upcoming goalkeeper and his performance explain why he is currently in Nigeria’s no.1.
“Although club faithful raised eyebrows when homeboy Itumeleng Khune dropped to second in the pecking order of goalkeeper behind Akpeyi, the club fans soon embraced the Nigerian for his guts as long as the club keeps winning.
“The Nigerian currently boasts of an impressive 47.4 per cent clean sheet ratio, having kept his side from conceding in nine of his 17 appearances this season. This explains why the coveted gong which is awarded to the player that has kept the cleanest sheets will likely go to the Nigerian.
“It’s all good news for Super Eagles gaffer, Gernot Rohr who has continued to demand more from his goalkeeper as Nigeria continues its quest to build a crack side that will rule the continent in 2022.”
