Chaine has admitted that he is excited about silencing his critics and getting regular game time at Pirates.
Sipho Chaine’s arrival at Orlando Pirates back in 2022 was met with a lot of skepticism especially from the fans and the media considering that the goalkeeper had not set the Betway Premiership alight at his previous clubs, Royal AM and Chippa United.
“He’s not Pirates material”. “He’ll struggle at Pirates”. “He’ll not unseat Ofori”.
These were some of the comments made when Chaine joined the Buccaneers from Chippa United at the beginning of the 2022/23 season.
ALSO READ: KwaMashu friends set to collide as Pirates meet Chiefs in derby
Fast forward to 2024. Chaine has not only taken over the number-one jersey from Richard Ofori at Pirates, but is currently one of the best goalkeepers in the League.
This season, the 28-year-old has made 26 appearances in all competitions for Pirates and has kept 15 clean sheets.
To prove how important Chaine is to the Pirates team, he was rested by coach Jose Riveiro for the Nedbank Cup last-32 clash against Richards Bay FC, because he was at risk of missing Saturday’s clash against Kaizer Chiefs. Chaine is currently on three yellow cards and had he played and received a yellow card in that match, he would have been suspended for the Soweto derby.
Chaine has admitted that he is excited about silencing his critics and getting regular game time at Pirates.
“This is the first time I find myself in this position where I have played consistently for a very long period,” Chaine told the media in Johannesburg this week.
“For me, it’s about coming to training and trying to improve every aspect of my goalkeeping… every aspect of my career.
“It’s not an easy thing because everything is out there and football is a game where you have good games and not-so-good games.
But you have to stay focused on what you’re trying to achieve as a football player and it’s something personal for me to always improve myself.”
Having won the last three Soweto derbies, Pirates will come into Saturday’s game as favourites, but Chaine is not reading much into that, saying stats count for nothing when it comes to these kinds of games.
ALSO READ: Frustrated Sundowns midfielder Nku ‘offered’ to PSL clubs
“The games are too far in between for you to say you are confident of winning because you’ve won the last three. It’s a different ball game altogether. For us, it’s about preparing properly for this one and making sure we get the three points.”
