HERMAN GIBBS
Stellenbosch FC showed they were ready to cut their teeth at the continental level after an emphatic 3-1 win over a gritty TS Galaxy outfit in Sunday’s MTN8 quarter-final clash in the Winelands, according to coach Steve Barker.
Despite a strong start, Stellenbosch trailed early in the match but mounted a come-from-behind winning effort with three unanswered goals. The match statistics suggest that Stellenbosch were the dominant side, although their coach Steve Barker was unhappy with how his charges closed out the match.
In the second half, after Stellenbosch had taken a commanding 3-1 lead, Galaxy staged a fightback that failed to yield goals but caused panic in the opposition defence.
“As a coach, I was frustrated in the second half because the team did not close out the match with the quality we have in our ranks for the full 90 minutes,” said Barker.
“Of course, I remembered it was the season’s first game. There were a few new players, there were a few changes, and the pitch deteriorated quite a bit.”
The win ensures Stellenbosch will advance to the semi-final, but Barker’s immediate concern is the CAF Confederation Cup fixture in two weeks. Stellenbosch’s third-place finish in the DStv Premiership during the 2023/24 campaign will see them playing in the preliminary round against neighbouring Nsingizini Hotspurs FC from Eswatini on the weekend of August 17.
“It set us up nicely now going into the CAF Confederation game and we are looking forward to the (MTN8) semi-final at the end of the month or early September,” said Barker.
“It was good to see where we are at. It’s been challenging weeks with a lot of noise and rumours flying around. It was just managing that, and making sure that we get on the field, play our first game and get through it with a positive result, which we now have.”
The “noise and rumours” Barker was referring to was speculation that some of Stellenbosch’s best players were on their way to rival clubs.
“The media has had speculation out there. It does make the players you know … (concerned) but we’ve always maintained that we want to keep our players,” said Barker.
“We feel that we are a team that can challenge for honours in the league and cup competitions and that’s our intention to work as hard as we can and make sure that we retain our squad.”
One Stellenbosch name frequently cropping up in the transfer market tittle-tattle was Deano van Rooyen, who captained the club for most of last season. He was on the bench, and it was thought that he was on his way out of the club.
Barker explained the player was carrying a niggle.
“Van Rooyen has had a bit of niggle and he didn’t train for two days last week. It was a little bit more precautionary, plus, because of the conditions of the pitch, we felt a player like Kyle (Jurgens) would be more suited for the game.”
Some good news for Stellenbosch is that Nsingizini Hotspurs FC have moved the match to Durban because their Eswatini base does not conform to CAF standards.