Middendorp swears by his shot-stopper

Maritzburg United coach Ernst “Mazinyo” Middendorp has reiterated his faith in his countryman Marcel Engelhardt, saying the 28-year-old German goalkeeper remains his number one.

Engelhardt inspired Maritzburg to the KwaZulu-Natal Premier’s Cup triumph by saving AmaZulu skipper Tapelo Xoki’s spot-kick as the Team of Choice prevailed 5-3 on penalties in the final at Chatsworth Stadium on Sunday. The full-time score was 2-all.

Last week, the Team of Choice recruited two fledgling keepers in Brylon Petersen and Renaldo Leaner. The arrival of 25-year-olds Petersen and Leaner from Kaizer Chiefs and Cape Town Spurs respectively raised suspicions that Engelhardt could lose his place in the XI. Middendorp has since moved swiftly to reaffirm that Engelhardt is still the Team of Choice’s first choice goalkeeper.

“We have Marcel, he’s our No.1. Currently we’re very clear about that. We’ve seen his performance today [on Sunday against AmaZulu] and I believe he deserves to be our No.1 even with his performances from last season,’’ Middendorp said.

The German keeper joined Maritzburg from his country’s third tier side Eintracht Braunschweig in January this year, amassing 16 Dstv Premiership appearances, where he conceded 15 times and kept only five clean sheets last term.

Petersen was the only keeper Middendorp did not use in this preseason competition. In their first game of the tournament, a quarterfinal against Uthongathi on Saturday, Engelhardt started and it was Leaner who played in the semifinal versus Royal Eagles.

Mazinyo has explained why the former Chiefs shot-stopper did not get a run in all their three KZN Premiers’ Cup clashes. “He’s been with us for three days… we were thinking to give all the players some minutes, but only three days with us [meant Petersen wasn’t really fit],’’ Middendorp stated.

“I know he was travelling to Casablanca [with Chiefs for the CAF Champions League final] and he was training with the team but at the same time he has not played for a while and to put him in a game that’s live on TV with everybody watching… it’s a bit of a risk to put somebody under pressure.’’