Barker looks for consistency ahead of Pirates league game

Stellenbosch FC head coach Steve Barker says they will be looking to stay consistent when they travel to Gauteng for a DStv Premiership meeting with Orlando Pirates at Orlando Stadium on Friday.

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This will be the teams’ last fixture of the year, and the first competitive match for Stellenbosch since they were crowned the Carling Black Label Knockout champions two weeks ago after beating TS Galaxy in the final

Stellies must be well rested after that and had some time to work on their clash with the Buccaneers with their match against Sekhukhune United having been postponed due to Babina Noko’s Caf Confederation Cup commitments.

Barker knows the importance of this tie for his charges, but he says the preparations have been going well.

“We have a big encounter on Friday when we go back to league football, and we want to show the consistency of a team challenging at the right end of the table by doing as well as we have been in the cup competitions,” said Barker ahead of the match.

“Preparations have been going well in that regard. The players had a couple of days off over Christmas but we’ve been back at work since Tuesday, working hard in preparation for a tough game away to Pirates.”

Barker emphasised that the game against Pirates will be tough, especially since the Buccaneers boast a really good squad with individual match-winners

But he admits that it helps knowing your opponents well as the two teams face each other for the fourth time this campaign – they have already played once in the league, and twice two times in the MTN8 semifinals.

“It’s a tough one, but I think it helps to be honest. There are a lot of things that Pirates do well as a team and what they try to achieve, so it’s about knowing what they are capable of doing and trying to find ways to negate that,” the Stellies coach added.

“It’s our fourth match against each other this season. So it helps when you know your opposition and what they’re good at, while being aware of the many match-winners they have in their team.”

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Stellenbosch and Pirates are separated by just two points on the log standings. Stellies are in fifth place with 23 points after 14 matches, while Bucs are in fourth spot with 25 points from 15 games.