Cape Town - Stellenbosch FC coach Steve Barker was understandably ecstatic after his side claimed a thrilling 3-2 league win over Cape Town City at the Danie Craven Stadium on Friday.
This was a first league win in nine games for Stellies as they last tasted victory when they beat Maritzburg United 3-0 last October.
“I think it was an incredible result for us. I think we went down early from a set-piece and a team that is sort of at the bottom of the table that could have just been done, the heads could have dropped.
“But I thought the response in the first half was ... it’s probably one of the best performances I’ve seen by this Stellenbosch team, to really put pressure, apply pressure the rest of the whole half, a couple of the chances we created, I think they had one or two entries into our half, which then they scored,” said Barker.
Stellies’ win was also impressive as they showed mental fortitude. They trailed 2-0 on the verge of half-time as goals from Lorenzo Gordinho and Darwin Gonzalez put City in control.
At that stage, many would have expected them to lose given their poor performances recently. However, they showed glimpses of the Stellies side of last season that finished an impressive fourth in clawing themselves back into the game and eventually winning.
“Then the message in the change room at half-time was ‘listen, we’re gonna win this game. There’s no doubt in my mind, we’re not playing for the draw, we’re not going to try and get back to 2-2, we’re going to get 3-2 and we’re going to go on and win the game’.
“They deserve that, they’ve worked hard. They’ve been written off, they’ve been touted against but what I’ve never ever seen a lack of commitment and they just continued to show that in the second half and I think the second half was, a bit, not as controlled from us as the first half,” added Barker.
The win leaves Stellies in 12th place on the log. They are two points above the relegation zone but also just two points behind eighth-placed AmaZulu.
The win will also be a confidence boost for Stellies ahead of their upcoming league clash against Chippa United on Saturday.
Cape Town City, who will no doubt be frustrated by the result, are also in action on Saturday as they visit SuperSport United.
IOL Sport