CAPE TOWN – Stellenbosch FC carried their MTN8 momentum into the league, securing a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Marumo Gallants in Tuesday night’s Betway Premiership clash at Danie Craven Stadium.
An early second half goal from in-form substitute Langelihle Phili in the 46th minute secured a vital league victory for the Cape Winelands outfit.
Head coach Steve Barker praised his team’s effort, acknowledging that the difficult pitch conditions made the game challenging for both sides.
“Looked from the outset, I think if you looked at the match, it was a hard-fought three points,” said Barker.
“I thought it was two teams trying to win a football game and not holding back.
“Credit to Marumo, they showed why they had a good start to the season.
With the victory, Barker’s charges climbed to 11th place on the log, collecting four points so far this season.
Barker admitted that Gallants applied plenty of pressure during the match, however he praised his side for maintaining their composure and showing resilience throughout.
“In saying that, although they put us quite a lot of time on the back foot, it was not like we had goal-line clearances or big saves to make, “he said.
“It wasn’t big chances that we were creating, and obviously, the conditions of the pitch don’t make it that easy.
“So it did become a bit of a game of attrition and 50-50s and wasn’t able to have the most fluid game either team, but I thought we showed great character, commitment, resilience in terms of once we got the goal, obviously they threw everything at us and we defended really well with a lot of commitment.”
Image: @StellenboschFC/Twitter.
