Red Card!
Mamelodi Sundowns' goalkeeper Denis Onyango has been on everyone's lips this week. The Ugandan goalkeeper had a blunder causing an own goal that cost his club three points against Polokwane City. This is his third blunder this season. Onyango has been crucified by fans but given what the goalkeeper has done for Sundowns, is this justified?
Soccer Laduma reader Temoso Trey-t Galane believes that Onyango is not necessarily a good goalkeeper but rather he enjoys the protection of good defence at Sundowns. Galane seems to imply that Onyango is not deserving of the accolades he has received:
"We must give a keeper an award because he is a good [shot] stopper regardless of how his team plays. Onyango got an award because Sundowns were winning but he was not doing well. The defence was doing all the work for him."
- Blogger: Temoso Trey-t Galane
Is Onyango only good because of the defenders in front of him? What do his statistics say? According to STATS.com – so far this season - Onyango:
- Played 945 minutes and kept 4 clean sheets.
- Conceded 7 goals and averaged 0.67 goals conceded per 90 minutes.
- Made 22 saves with an average of 2.10 saves per 90 minutes.
- Has a save percentage of 75.9% with an average of 3.14 saves per goal conceded.
Is it fair for Onyango to receive such criticism from fans? Elias Dimpe stood up for the goalkeeper. The Soccer Laduma reader believes that Onyango's mistake against Polokwane City is just an occupational hazard:
"This is not a big deal. I'm not even going to send messages of encouragement to this guy because it's just another day at the office. Judge him only if you've ever made a mistake."
- Blogger: Elias Dimpe
DopeZN shares the same sentiment and believes making mistakes is part of the game:
"I feel for the player [Onyango]. Silly mistakes are part of the game."
- Blogger: DopeZN
Do you think Onyango is deserving of the criticism he has been receiving? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
