Barker on how Stellenbosch beat Pirates in league opener

Stellenbosch FC head coach Steve Barker credited his team’s win against Orlando Pirates to his players’ tactical discipline in their opening game of the DStv Premiership. 

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The Cape club shocked the Buccaneers with a 1-0 victory at Danie Craven Stadium on Saturday. Barker was proud of his players and says they knew what to expect from Pirates.

“The ethos of our club, and the teams we have, is one of worth ethic, team unity, positivity, accountability, and responsibility, and I thought … we showed that,” Barker was quoted as saying by the club’s website.

“The shift that the players put in, the tactical discipline and tactical awareness that we applied, especially without the ball, was really good.”

“We knew that they would have a lot of possession and move the ball around well, which they did, but we held our structure well and looked dangerous in transition. That was always going to be the key element in us getting one over Pirates, and I’m really proud of the hard work the players put in during the pre-season.”

Barker added that to get a victory against Pirates is really good for the team, and he was pleased with new signings like Kgaogelo Sekgota. But now, he needs his charges to keep the focus going into their next game against Polokwane City at Old Peter Mokaba Stadium on Wednesday.

“Obviously, to start the season with a home win over Orlando Pirates is really good, and the challenge now is to make sure we maintain the work ethic, attitude, and discipline to Wednesday’s match against Polokwane City,” the Stellies coach continued.  

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“But I’m really pleased with the performance of all the players and the shift they put in. There were a lot of changes to the squad, we brought in ten players, and a guy like Sekgota only arrived a couple of days ago, while we only recently got the work permits for some of our foreign signings. That made preparations challenging through some of the pre-season but I can only be proud of the players for the shift they put in.”