Orlando Pirates coach Jose Rivero has given his verdict on goalkeeper Melusi Buthelezi, who has kept a massive eight clean sheets in ten matches.
The Buccaneers made it four wins from five matches when they defeated TS Galaxy 1-0 at Orlando Stadium on Saturday.
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Even more impressive is the defensive record of the MTN8 champions, who have not conceded a single goal in their last five league matches and eighth for Buthelezi across all competitions since joining Pirates at the start of the season.
"The goalie (Buthelezi) is important in the structure and he's a specialist – his speciality is what happened in the first minutes of the game (Buthelezi made an early save)," Riveiro said to the media during the post-match press conference.
"Melusi is there, it's not a secret. He showed it last season, playing for Galaxy. And again, he's working hard.
"He is competing with the number one goalkeeper of Ghana (Richard Ofori), Sipho Chaine and the experienced Siyabonga Mpontshane. So you can imagine the training and competition."
Earlier this season, Buthelezi spoke to KickOff exclusively on his arrival at Pirates and shared his thoughts on competition within the team.
"No, [I am not worried about the competition], I actually consider myself blessed. I'm learning from everyone in our goalkeeping department," Buthelezi said.
"Like you said, there is Mpontshane, there is Chaine, there is Ofori, I think there is a lot I can learn from each of them and even from them as a collective.
"I'm someone that enjoys learning, they are obviously all top goalkeepers so I could say what encourages me every day is waking up and going: 'I can't wait to go and train with these guys so I can learn'.
Buthelezi will be aiming to continue his form when Pirates take on Lamontville Golden Arrows at Mpumalanga Stadium on Sunday, 17 December.
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