Steve Barker has labeled Sunday’s victory over Orlando Pirates as a bittersweet moment after his side fell agonisingly short of reaching a first MTN8 final.

Stellenbosch FC recorded a 1-0 MTN8 semi-final second-leg win over Pirates at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto on Sunday but were denied a spot in the final after falling to the away goals rule, losing 2-2 on aggregate over the two-legged tie.

Despite the disappointment of the outcome, Barker was quick to share his pride at his side’s performance and the fight his side displayed in the face of a favoured opponent and a week of adversity.

“I thought we started the game really well,” Barker said. “I thought our plan and structure that we set out to achieve frustrated Pirates. They weren’t really able to play through [Ndabayithethwa] Ndlondlo or [Siphelo] Baloni, while it kept players like [Monnapule] Saleng and [Patrick] Maswanganyi quiet.

“We applied a lot of good pressure and then on transition, the early ball over the top caused them problems. I thought the first half was a really solid, good performance and that we probably created far more chances then than we did in the second half.

Match report – Stellies fall agonisingly short of first MTN8 final

“There was maybe a bit of unluckiness in the first half not to sneak a second goal but I was well pleased with performances heading into half-time with the score at 1-0. I thought we deserved it.

“In the second half, the game plan was always to try and stay alive in the game as long as possible, we didn’t want to be out of the game with 30 minutes to go, and with 30 minutes to go, we needed a goal to advance.

“The players who had expended a lot of energy, people like Devin Titus, Iqraam Rayners, and Jayden Adams, saw us need to make substitutes with a bit of cramp and injury. We tried to freshen things up and lost a bit of structure, in playing the ball and moving the ball around in the second half.

“We were maybe a bit anxious, playing the ball forward too early, but in saying that there were half-moments here and half-moments there. When you do that, and when you’re chasing the game to get into the final, you leave yourself a bit exposed.

“That meant in the second half there were moments where they transitioned against us and looked a little bit dangerous. But, there was nothing we could lose. Even if they scored it wouldn’t have changed the big picture…

“I can just be proud of what the lads did out there. It’s been a tough week for us emotionally, plus from an injury point of view with Fawaaz Basadien and Deano van Rooyen, who are really solid full-backs for us, being out, and obviously with the loss of [Sibongiseni] Mthethwa and the red card for Ismael Toure.

“A lot of players got an opportunity today to put their hands up. As I said before the game, we started the day with six players who were playing DDC two or three seasons ago, plus Mervin Boji on the bench, so a very young squad out there and they can be very proud of what they did.

“To take Pirates to the brink, almost getting into a final, and having played them now three times and beaten them twice… At the end of the day, the difference turned out to be the away goal which they scored in additional time in Cape Town to make it 2-1 after we had played the majority of that match down to ten men,

“I think we’ve shown that we can compete with the bigger teams. It’s now just really important for us to refocus on our league campaign now that we haven’t made the final.

“It’s bittersweet. We won the battle today but we lost the war. I was happy with the performance, very pleased with the performance, and proud of the performance, but obviously disappointed that we have again come so close to a final and not gotten over the line. ”