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Stellenbosch Football Club

Barker: There are lessons to be learned from Sundowns defeat

Football Dstv Premiership 2023/24 Stellenbosch Fc V Mamelodi Sundowns Athlone Stadium

Stellenbosch FC coach Steve Barker was defiant in defeat after suffering a narrow 1-0 loss to Mamelodi Sundowns in Saturday’s DStv Premiership encounter.

In a battle between first and second in the DStv Premiership standings, it was newly-crowned 2023/24 champions Mamelodi Sundowns who emerged victorious at Athlone Stadium on Saturday following a solitary second-half goal from Lebisa Nku.

“I’m a bit disappointed that we weren’t able to get at least a point from the game,” Stellies head coach Barker said following the match.

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“From a neutral point of view, I thought it was a good football match. We tried to negate them from taking total control of the match, without allowing them to dictate play by applying pressure and trying to disrupt their build-up patterns.

“I thought we executed that fairly well – it’s not always possible because they are just good enough individually in decision-making and execution that you can’t always stop it – but we did ask them enough questions…”

He added, “I thought it was a really good tactical battle, especially in the first half. We know that Sundowns will create chances and that you can’t play a team of their calibre without them getting in behind and having combinations around your box.

“It was just about seeing those moments out, suffering a little bit in those situations, and knowing that if we can see that out, we will have moments where we can look to catch them on transition…”

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One such moment presented itself when Stellenbosch FC were awarded a penalty with the scores still level, but Golden Boot-chasing Iqraam Rayners was unable to convert his spot-kick.

“Obviously, the penalty miss was a massive moment,” Barker said. “Against a team of their calibre, you don’t get many opportunities so when you do get one from the penalty spot and you don’t score, an already tough task becomes even tougher.

“It would have been interesting to see how the game would have panned out if we had taken the lead. They’re desperate to finish the season with an unbeaten record and would have had to really come out at us to get back in the game, and then maybe [we would have had chances].

“But as long as it was 0-0 or 1-0, they managed the situation well. We’ve played them twice in the last two weeks or so and there have been a lot of lessons learned…”

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Despite the result, the coach was pleased with his side’s performance and shared his optimism that Stellenbosch FC were closing the gap on perennial champions, Sundowns.

“They are well-coached and play a really good line,” Barker said. “We know that one of the ways we can ask questions is with the ball over the top, but sometimes it was played a bit too early, or hasty, or too often.

“But at the same time, there are times when they have ten players in your half, so it’s not easy to play, and you get caught in a difficult situation.

“I thought we were good though, the effort was good and in many aspects we held them. You can see they are the better team, they are the best team in the league and you can’t hide away from that fact, but we will get there.

“We’re rising quickly and we’re not going to stop. We are coming…”