‘A BIG IMPACT’

Cape Town City teammate and fellow European Roland Putsche says he’s been thoroughly impressed by young goalkeeper Peter Leeuwenburgh, and feels the 24-year-old can only get better. “He’s already proven a point in his first few games in South Africa,” the Austrian midfielder says. “We shouldn’t forget, he’s still a young goalkeeper, who has come from a good academy and a good professional side in Europe. As we know, goalkeepers usually reach their peak later in their career, and I see so much potential in him, and he can get even better. He’s already a really good goalkeeper: in football it’s about consistency, and the consistency he’s shown over our first few games has been impressive.” Putsche says City now play with added confidence in the knowledge that a goalkeeper with Leeuwenburgh’s quality forms the last line of their defence. “I think he especially gives confidence to the back four – they know that if they make a slight mistake, he is there,” Putsche says. “And I think you can see that on the pitch now, he is slowly but surely influencing our game. It’s also about his communication along with his presence in the goal, and he’s gone through proper football schooling, which is nice to see here in South Africa, which raises the bar and shows some other clubs that there’s a lot to pick up from European clubs and their development. So he’s making a great impact.”