CAPE TOWN – Stellenbosch FC head coach Steve Barker has acknowledged that his side faced a challenging start to their Betway Premiership campaign.
Stellenbosch, currently positioned 13th on the league standings, have endured three losses in their first five league matches of the season.
The Cape Winelands went down 1-0 to Mamelodi Sundowns at Athlone Stadium over the weekend, and Barker says his team is eager for the upcoming FIFA break to regroup and recover.
“Obviously, the [Kaizer] Chiefs penalty and subsequent goal, a red card subsequent goal and then conceding like a really good goal against [Orlando] Pirates away from home. So we’ve had a bit of a difficult start,” said Barker.
“But within all those games, we’ve also shown that we are also capable, so it’s just important for us.
“We look forward to a final coming up. If we didn’t have a final to look forward to, it would have been a tough FIFA break – but we do have something to look forward to.
“So it’s just about this FIFA break to regroup and to ensure that our next league match is going forward. We have to be picking up a lot more points than what we are.”
Barker’s squad is set to travel to Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga next week to face Orlando Pirates in the highly anticipated MTN8 final.
The 57-year-old expressed his excitement about the opportunity to lead his team in the prestigious cup final.
“I think it’s definitely heightened excitement, energy, I think all players want to be playing in finals,” he said.
“The build-up to the final is just once per final finish their matches, it’ll be 100% on the final. It’s nice to play in a final with a full stadium and the national anthem being played.
“There’ll definitely be a big buzz around the squad, and it’s obviously an opportunity to just rectify our poor league form and get a trophy – then from there on, start focusing on the league campaign.”
Images: @StellenboschFC/Twitter.
