Andre Petim
New Lamontville Golden Arrows goalkeeper Andre Petim says he’s looking forward to making a positive contribution following his loan move from Ajax Cape Town.
The 26-year-old, who was Ajax’s third choice goalkeeper behind Sander Westerveld and Sean Roberts, has signed a loan deal which will see him in Arrows colours for the remainder of the 2011/12 season.
He says although it was difficult to leave Ajax, he’s looking forward to a new challenge with Arrows, where he is expected to be a direct replacement for the injured Helton Da Rocha.
“It was tough to leave Ajax because they’ve been good to me for all these years, but at the same time I’m looking forward to fighting for a regular place at Arrows,” Petim told MTNFootball.com.
The man who grew up in Parow, where Ajax’s Ikamva facility is situated, said: “It was a bit of give and take and at the end of the day I believe we are all going to benefit from the decision. That’s the most important thing.
“I can say the fact that I’ve played under Muhsin (Ertugral) before was one of the factors that influenced my decision,” said the man who started out at Vasco Da Gama’s juniors before joining Ajax’s academy.
“I’m also looking forward to joining my new teammates and obviously with the break we’ll have friendly matches lined up and we’ll get to know each other. It will almost be like pre-season.”
Arrows are currently the third worst defensive side in the league, but Petim hopes he can play a positive role in the defensive line during the second half of the season.
“There are plenty of good defenders in the squad like (Musa) Bilankulu, (Robyn) Johannes, (Mzivukile) Tom and (Siyanda) Zwane; with more organisation this could easily be one of the best defences in the country,” he said.
“Hopefully I’ll settle in quickly and I can contribute in making the defence stronger and collect points.”