Stellenbosch players meeting with their former teammate Van Rooyen. Who moved to Orlando Pirates after a successful season with the Cape Wineland based club. Image: Stellenbosch FC
(The Post News)- Steve Barker, the coach of Stellenbosch, commended his team after they defeated Orlando Pirates 1-0 on Sunday in the Betway Premiership, marking his 100th victory as a club coach at Orlando Stadium.
In the 33rd minute, Devin Titus ran clear and past Pirates goalie Sipho Chaine as Barker’s team exacted revenge for losing to the same team in the MTN8 final in October. After defeating Pirates twice in the previous season, it was Stellenbosch’s third straight league victory.
“Where do I begin?” Barker said after the game. “I think Pirates started very well. I think we tactically planned for one of two things for the first five to ten minutes. Then, Releboholile Mofokeng and Mohau Nkota played fairly narrow, and they were able to find spaces between Mofokeng, Nkota, and Patrick Maswanganyi. The balls behind our midfield caused us a bit of distress. However, we worked things out. To deal with Mofokeng, Genino Palace slid a little bit deeper, and our wide midfielders and fullbacks had to come closer to the fullbacks before they entered our final third. I believe that structurally, we were much better, and the game calmed down in the remaining minutes.”
“The ball into Ashley (Cupido) with a wonderful pass in behind for Devin and a good finish demonstrated once again that we are a team that excels in transition. We achieved our desired goal, and the remainder of the half was spent maintaining our composure and trying to hold onto the lead so that we could end the half ahead 1-0. Naturally, the Pirates had a lot of possession, a number of half-chances, and a little opportunity toward the finish that went directly to Sage Stephens. Apart from that, though, I believe we played good defense and just gave them half-chances and balls into the box.”
“But I just wanted to say that I’m always in awe of these Stellenbosch players because of their bravery, courage, dedication, desire, work ethic, unity, and togetherness,” stated Stellies coach.
Days have passed since Stellenbosch’s devastating 2-0 CAF Confederation Cup loss to Stade Malien. “We just arrived in Cape Town on Friday after a very challenging week of travel on Sunday. We had to travel yesterday to play against a team that has won seven straight league games and has a trophy (MTN8) in their bag this season,” he remarked.
Barker gave Wesley Sergel, the team’s assistant coach, credit for the tactical arrangement. “They had a lot of faith and confidence, so we came and achieved the results we did. All the players deserve credit for their hard work, as does assistant coach Wesley Sergel, who is a strategist. I believe the way we assembled the team was excellent,” he remarked.
He concluded by congratulating the Stellies guys. “And that they had a huge victory, and it was truly unique to win back-to-back games at Orlando Stadium. I think it’s my 100th victory as coach of Stellenbosch, and it’s quite remarkable to have done it here, in these conditions,” said the coach.
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