Barker: Stellies taking it one game at a time
Steve Barker is hoping to maintain his side’s momentum when Stellenbosch FC welcome Golden Arrows to town on Wednesday evening.
Fresh from recording a resounding 5-0 DStv Premiership win over Polokwane City on Saturday, Stellenbosch FC return to action this week for another important league encounter against Golden Arrows.
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Stellies currently occupy second position in the standings, three points clear of Orlando Pirates with five matches remaining, and coach Steve Barker is hoping to maintain their push for continental qualification with another strong performance.
“Wednesday’s home game against Golden Arrows is another important match for us and we’ve got to keep up the momentum that we’ve shown,” Barker said.
“The team is in a good space and preparations have gone well, and we have a full and healthy squad to select from. All that remains is for us to maintain our consistency and the desire to put in big performances.
“These games can be tricky. Arrows have some good individual players and are a really good attacking team, so we have to ensure that we are prepared for that, but we are looking forward to it.”
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Barker’s troops head into Wednesday’s clash on the back of a club-record 24-match unbeaten streak across all competitions and last tasted defeat back in September 2023.
“It would be massive to extend our streak and 25 is a big number of games to have gone unbeaten,” Barker said when asked about the run. “The team has done really well to ensure that the foundations have been laid to achieve such a milestone.
“We’ve just got to keep taking it one game at a time, though. We have to continually look to improve, in every training session and every match, and avoid any complacency.”
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The encounter against Golden Arrows comes on the eve of Stellies’ looming Nedbank Cup semi-final clash against Mamelodi Sundowns, but Barker insists that his side’s focus is purely on claiming three points in the league first.
“We have an opportunity to finish really high up on the log this season. We’ve put ourselves in a really good position so it would be prudent for us to put our full concentration into a very important league match,” he concluded.
“We need to put in a performance that gets us maximum points, and then once we’ve done that we can start preparing for the semi-final against Mamelodi Sundowns.”
The DStv Premiership match between Stellenbosch FC and Golden Arrows is set to kick off at 17h30 at the Danie Craven Stadium. Tickets are on sale for R20.00 from Webtickets and Pick n Pay outlets.
Did you know, Iqraam Rayners’ five-goal return against Polokwane City saw him equal James Chamanga’s 17-year-old record for the most goals by a player in a single Premiership match? You can watch James’ message to Iqraam in the video below.
From one legend to another ✨️
James Chamanga has a special message for Iqraam Rayners after his record-equaling five-goal haul ???? https://t.co/TxMgtguDCH pic.twitter.com/iaYe8p9Ki4
— Stellenbosch FC (@StellenboschFC) April 29, 2024