Swallows goal keeper Akpeyi never lost trust uninvolved

Daniel Akpeyi, a goalkeeper for the Swallows, insists that he never considered giving up despite spending months on the sidelines and having trouble finding a team.

Prior to joining Swallows during the January move window, Akpeyi was uninvolved without a club after he was considered excess to necessities by Kaizer Bosses toward the finish of the 2021-22 season.

By putting in some solid performances, he earned the club’s trust and helped them avoid relegation and finish in the top eight during the most recent season.

These things can happen, and players may be absent for a long time. Even though it can be frustrating, Akpeyi told Sowetan yesterday that one must remain mentally strong and continue to prepare because one will never know when their time will come.

“So that was my position at that time, and I believed that everything would work out just fine,”

The 36-year-old player scored five goals and kept five clean sheets in eight games. However, he insisted that it was a team effort because they needed to save the club from bankruptcy and refused to take credit for it on his own.

He stated, “At some point players realised that the team doesn’t have to go down and the team doesn’t have to struggle like they did in the previous seasons, when they went into the playoffs.” This was not the case for the team.

“Each and every player had to step up. Yes, I put in some strong performances, and I’m thankful for them because they were absolutely necessary for the team’s rise to the top eight. Therefore, it was a team effort.

The Nigerian worldwide likewise got some margin to say thanks to Swallows executive David Mogashoa, who gave him an opportunity when no group was ready to sign him.

“I had to be thankful to coach Musa [Nyatama], goalkeeper coach Thela [Ngobeni], and everyone in the coaching department for the support they gave me while I was training with the club,” the coach said. “The chairman gave me that privilege to be part of the team.”