Coach Steve Barker admits he was relieved to have emerged victorious after Stellenbosch FC played out a seven-goal thriller against Golden Arrows.

Stellenbosch FC welcomed Golden Arrows to Athlone Stadium on Wednesday, where the two teams delivered an entertaining spectacle of football in front of the Cape Town fans.

The hosts opened the scoring early on through Langelihle Phili, before Arrows equalised on the stroke of half-time with a goal from Siyanda Ndlovu that sparked the tit-for-tat battle.

In the second half, Andre de Jong netted a brace either side of a goal from Junior Dion, but when substitute Issac Cisse equalised for Abafana Bes’thende, it appeared as though the points would be shared on the night.

That was until Muzomuhle Khanyi, off the bench just moments before, popped up to score his first goal for the Maroons late on to secure an all-important three points.

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“Seven-goal thriller, I think for the fans is nice, but for a coach it’s not easy,” Barker said lightheartedly. “Both teams played to win tonight, but we needed the win, and there’s a difference between needing a win and wanting one.

“We had to find a way to get results, and after struggling to score goals of late, scoring four was really good for us as a team. We could have maybe done better for one or two of the goals we conceded, but they also scored some really quality goals.

“But teams had their moments of control, but I think we started the game really well. In the first 20-25 minutes, we controlled the tempo and the ball, and were on the front foot in terms of creating chances.

“It was a bit disappointing then to concede as late as we did because I thought we were the better team in the first half, and the message at half-time was to tell the players not to let that goal drop their shoulders

“If we could replicate that in the second half, we would win the game, and then the second half became a match of transition, with both teams pushing forward to get a goal.

“It became an open game from there, with errors and defensive shape being lost, which led to the amount of goals that were scored. In the end, I’m just really relieved with the result.

“Before the match, I said that I felt there is an upward curve with the team after we’d gone a couple of games unbeaten in the Cup, CAF, and in the league, and that we needed to find a way to score more to continue that curve.

“Hopefully, we can now build on this foundation of scoring goals while making sure we are a bit tighter at the back.”

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Stellies’ clash against Arrows came just two days after the team arrived back in South Africa from Equatorial Guinea after playing 15 de Agosto de Akonibe, but Barker believes the continental travels will only benefit his players in the long run.

“We are all professionals, football team players are professionals,” he said. “They get paid for their profession, and I’ve always said it, and I keep saying it, that we must not want to be playing in Africa and then complain about playing in Africa.

“This last trip [to Ebibeyin] was especially long because normally you play in capitals and it means you don’t still have to travel further and have the extra flights we did.

“But, the motivation is that we can still have a really special season. We’ve made a cup final already, we’re in the quarter-final of Carling, and if we can make the CAF group stages… The motivation is never to not be hungry to succeed.

“We’ve got to have that desire to keep winning things and competing at the highest level. I’ve just had to try to manage the squad in a way that freshens it up a bit, and there were some fresh legs out there today.

“Sunday’s [second leg against 15 de Agosto] is perhaps another opportunity to give other players minutes, and hopefully by doing that, we can manage the games that are coming thick and fast.

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He added, “It’s a privilege to be playing on the continent.  There are over 1000 clubs playing on the continent, and [we’ve been nominated for the CAF Club of the Year], which is just really special.

“We want to be playing in Africa, and we don’t mind where we play. I do think it also builds a bit of resilience in a team. I mean, we had to spend five days together, whether it’s on a plane in an airport, on a bus at a hotel. And I think that brings a team together.

“We brought in a number of new players and I think that actually enduring a little bit of hardship might, in the long run, be good and what we need.”