Riekerink confident Cape Town City will cope without Mamelodi Sundowns newboy Erasmus

Cape Town City coach Olde Jan Riekerink says there are other players who can step in and fill the void left by forward Kermit Erasmus who left the club to join Mamelodi Sundowns.

Erasmus proved he is a seasoned player during the last Premier Soccer League PSL) campaign in which he ended with 13 goals, the best season tally in his career.

Having previously played in the Erevidisie for Feyenoord, Ligue 1 for Stade Rennais and Orlando Pirates, Erasmus was one of the most experienced players in Riekerink’s side.

But Riekerink feels he has enough cover to replace Erasmus who joined Sundowns in early October.

“We have some other options but for now it’s better to talk about the next game,” Riekerink told the media.

“Fagrie [Lakay] is an option, Tashreeq [Morris] is also an option for that game so they will be normally the first candidates. Of course, Kermit decided a lot of games with goals. Now that Kermit is not here, we will see that other players will stand up and show themselves. We will be sure of the next game.

“Our target at this club is that we always want to end in the top eight. Our ambition is that our team has to end as high as possible. I think we will emphasise on the fact that Kermit has left. Kermit was very important for us, he scored a lot of important goals. We will give opportunities to other players to excel.

“I am convinced with this group. We will find our way to score our goals and then other players will find their way to the goal. May it not be one player but several others.”

Other attackers Riekerink could be relying on include Mduduzi Mdantsane, upcoming Diego Appollis and Bafana Bafana player Thabo Nodada.

City’s 2020/21 season has started on a losing note after going down 1-0 to Orlando Pirates in last week’s MTN8 quarter-final clash.

They now prepare to host Chippa United in their opening PSL match on Saturday.