Brandon Petersen reacts to Nedbank Cup final nod ahead of Bruce Bvuma

Coach Nasreddine Nabi told SABC Sport before kick-off that he wanted to “protect” Bvuma in their second successive Soweto Derby, and felt Petersen was deserving of a return to the side in Durban.

The Glamour Boys beat Pirates 2-1 to end their decade-long trophy drought and confirmed their spot in next season’s CAF Confederation Cup, and Petersen says the goalkeeping department has been working tirelessly to deliver this season.

"You know the amount of work all the goalkeepers put in at training, I think anyone put in the poles today would have done the job," said Petersen.

"And obviously coming in, it's a huge responsibility but it also showed me to belief that they [coaches] had in me – I mean we do a lot of hard work and our goalkeeping department got a lot of stick over the last couple of weeks.

"We were under a lot of pressure, and for me to be granted the opportunity to play was a huge honour and blessing for me – and to win the trophy is a dream come true."

The 30-year-old, who joined Amakhosi from Bidvest Wits upon the club's sale in 2020, says ending the 10-year 'curse' is a major weight off the players' shoulders.

"I've been here for four years now and we've been hunting for a trophy every season, and I know we've made a lot of promises in the past, and I think we can finally tick that off, we broke the curse 10 years later," he added.

"And I mean, the guys did phenomenally well to give me the confidence coming in, I haven't played a lot this season, so coming into a final, there was always going to be that pressure.

"I mean, playing for Chiefs is pressure, but pressure is a privilege and I think today we showed up and we wanted it more. This one was for the Chairman [Kaizer Motaung], our families and all the sacrifices they've made, and all our wonderful supporters."

READ: Nabi hopes cup victory buys more time at Kaizer Chiefs