Stellenbosch FC coach Steve Barker is of the opinion that the Carling Knockout last 16 victory over Kaizer Chiefs in Cape Town on Sunday is what his struggling team needed, and maybe it is a catalyst to start improving in the Betway Premiership.
Stellies caused a big shock after they dumped Amakhosi out of the competition in the first round via penalty kicks. The final score was 5-4 after it ended goalless after extra time.
“I think sometimes we need wins like this to give us the confidence and belief in ourselves and in what we are doing and our processes. When you are not winning as many games as you would want to be, it does throw a little bit of doubt and confidence drops a little bit, so this can be a catalyst for us going forward,” said Barker on the Stellies website.
“We’ve still got a CAF game coming up, our next fixture away in Equatorial Guinea, which is a long travel before we come back for the Golden Arrows fixture midweek. So yeah, I’m trusting that this could be the catalyst and just what we needed to do as a team and that was to win a game,” he added.
Getting their own back
Barker was happy that they were able to bounce back after an earlier defeat to Chiefs earlier in the season.
“I’m never one to hold grudges or look to beat a team because of 1-2-3, but I had a strong sense, and the message was to the players that this is an opportunity for some redemption. You know, we’ve had close calls, we’ve had red cards go against us in tight games.
“Having lost to them three times last season and once already this season, and when we’ve played them five times in one calendar year, it was important for us not to go lose a fifth game on the trot against them.”
He added that the message was clear to his players that this was their chance to get their confidence back: “First of all, it was an opportunity win a game so we can get into the last eight, which is the main objective… But it was an important win for us against a team that’s been beating us too regularly for our own liking,” Barker said further.
