Stellenbosch FC head coach Steve Barker will be eager to keep the momentum going when his players get their maiden CAF Confederation Cup group stage participation underway.
This comes after Stellies played a game of their lives when they were beaten 3-1 in a controversial fashion by the Orlando Pirates in the MTN8 Cup final on Saturday at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
Stellies, who qualified for the group stage, were drawn in Group B of the CAF Confederation Cup alongside CD Lunda-Sul of Angola, 2009 champions Stade Malien of Mali, and two-time winners RS Berkane of Morocco.
Stellenbosch reached the group stage by overcoming the challenge of Nsingizini Hotspurs and AS Vita in the preliminary rounds, and the coach believes the latter test has prepared his side well for the next round.
Excited for the challenge ahead
“Once we qualified for the group stage, there was a lot of excitement and anticipation to see who we would get in the draw,” Barker said on the club’s website.
“Now that the draw is done, we’re even more excited to face the challenge and the quality of the teams in our group.
“There are some giants of African football with us, varied types of opposition from different parts of the continent, and some beautiful countries to travel to and visit as well.
“We can’t wait for it to start taking place, and obviously our aim is to make sure we advance to the knockout stage of the competition.”
Stellies are competing in the tournament for the first time in the club’s history, but Barker believes his troops have what it takes to advance to the knockout round of the tournament.
He said: “We’ve got to believe that we can be competitive even though we are up against seasoned campaigners in CAF competitions.
“It’s important that we believe we have earned our right to be here and that we have as much of a chance as any other team to qualify.
“It’s about having the belief and trust in what we do while getting to experience different environments, stadiums, and teams with different tactical set-ups to what we might ordinarily be used to.”
Opportunity to grow
He explained further: “All in all, it’s a very exciting period and a massive opportunity for us to keep growing as a football club.
“There aren’t many more challenging trips than playing in DR Congo against a formidable opponent like AS Vita.
“It was a massive learning curve for everyone at the club, and the lessons learnt from those travels will definitely be taken into the next phase of the competition.”
The Maroons begin their group stage campaign with a trip to Mali to face Stade Malien on November 27, before hosting CD Lunda-Sul afterwards.
Malien knocked out Sekhukhune United out of the competition in the preliminary rounds.
