Analysis: Who will win PSL Goalkeeper of the Season?

After looking at the best players from the PSL season so far, we also wanted to show some recognition to the goalkeepers. This PSL campaign is shaping up to be the lowest scoring season of all time, and credit must be given to goalkeepers for ensuring the goals total is kept to a minimum. While the role of the modern goalkeeper continues to evolve, the act(s) of shot stopping and preventing goals will always be the primary goalkeeper KPI. We dug through the numbers to bring the leading goalkeeper stats for the season.

Clean sheets

It has been a phenomenal season so far for Orlando Pirates, who are taking the title race to the final day. Sipho Chaine has been one of the biggest reasons for that. The Bafana Bafana stopper has proved to be reliable for coach Abdeslam Ouaddou, and is the favorite for this season’s Golden Glove award. Chaine has already equalled his club’s record for clean sheets in a single season (17), and now has his eyes set on the overall PSL record set by Ronwen Williams.

Most clean sheets by a keeper in a PSL season:

• 18 – Ronwen Williams (Sundowns, 2022/23)
• 17 – Brian Baloyi (Kaizer Chiefs, 1999/00)
• 17 – Moeneeb Josephs (Orlando Pirates, 2009/10)
• 17 – Sipho Chaine (Orlando Pirates, 2025/26)

This season, Chaine is four ahead of Brandon Petersen and Ricardo Goss, who are both on 13. While the two can still equal Chaine’s tally, they can not go past him because they only have 4 games to play. It will take a wild turn of events to see another keeper get to 17.

Most clean sheets by a keeper THIS season:

• 17 – Sipho Chaine (Orlando Pirates)
• 13 – Ricardo Goss (Siwelele)
• 13 – Brandon Petersen (Kaizer Chiefs)
• 12 – Darren Keet (Durban City)
• 12 – Ronwen Williams (Sundowns)

Saves and save percentage

Beyond clean sheets, we can also look at the number of saves PSL keepers have been making. TS Galaxy’s Tape Ira has been a busy goalkeeper this season, making 83 saves in the 25 games that he has played. Since full shot data became available post-pandemic, only one keeper has made more saves in a season (Magoola has 85 in 2022/23). Tape needs to only make three more saves in the last four games to set a new record.

Most saves by a keeper this season:

• 83 – Ira Tape (TS Galaxy)
• 75 – Washington Arubi (Marumo Gallants)
• 66 – Sage Stephens (Stellenbosch)
• 62 – Darren Keet (Durban City)
• 58 – Ricardo Goss (Siwelele)

Being on this list means you have faced more shots, and had more opportunities to make saves. Other keepers like Chaine have admittedly stronger defences, and so will face fewer shots on target. For example,Tape has faced 114 shots on target this season, while Chaine has only faced 49. As such, save percentage may be a better indicator of keeper shot stopping abilities.

Top keepers for save percentage this season (minimum 40 shots on target faced):

• 85% – Lindokuhle Mathebula
• 83% – Darren Johnson
• 82% – Renaldo Leaner
• 79% – Ricardo Goss
• 76% – Ronwen Williams, Sipho Chaine

Goals prevented

Another metric that can be used to measure goalkeeper ability is Goals prevented. We have previously covered Expected Goals (xG), which measures the quality of chances a side creates. Beyond that, xG on target (xGOT) tells us what a team managed to do with these chances. Whereas xG measures the quality of the shot at source, xGOT measures the quality of where it is sent. Primarily, it is used to measure finishing ability, but it can also be equally useful for measuring goalkeeper performance. Goals Prevented = xGOT conceded minus goals conceded, and shows how many goals a keeper saved their team.

Most goals prevented by a keeper this season:

• 6.5 – Darren Johnson (AmaZulu)
• 4.2 – Renaldo Leaner (Sekhukhune)
• 3.4 – Sage Stephens (Stellenbosch)