Stellenbosch coach Steve Barker remains proud of his team despite being knocked out of the CAF Confederation Cup by Fadlu Davids' Simba of Tanzania in the semifinals, shifting focus to fighting for third spot in the Betway Premiership, to return to the Confed Cup next term.
After winning the home leg, played in Zanzibar the previous Sunday, with a single unanswered goal, Simba held Stellenbosch to a goalless draw in the second leg at Moses Mabhida Stadium over the weekend, sealing the tie 1-0 on aggregate to reach the final, where they'll face Morrocan champions RSB Berkane.
“I want to congratulate the team for the journey we've been on. It hasn't been an easy journey, a lot of travelling and we also played a lot of our home games away from the Western Cape. I am proud of the effort,'' Barker said.
“For us to have competed against teams like Zamalek, Simba, RS Berkane, to get ourselves this close to getting to the final, I think it's credit to the team. Considering that it was our first adventure in Africa, I think we've done well and we did all we could.
Barker plots return to CAF after semis exit
Cape side now target finishing third in league
Image: Darren Stewart
Stellenbosch coach Steve Barker remains proud of his team despite being knocked out of the CAF Confederation Cup by Fadlu Davids' Simba of Tanzania in the semifinals, shifting focus to fighting for third spot in the Betway Premiership, to return to the Confed Cup next term.
After winning the home leg, played in Zanzibar the previous Sunday, with a single unanswered goal, Simba held Stellenbosch to a goalless draw in the second leg at Moses Mabhida Stadium over the weekend, sealing the tie 1-0 on aggregate to reach the final, where they'll face Morrocan champions RSB Berkane.
“I want to congratulate the team for the journey we've been on. It hasn't been an easy journey, a lot of travelling and we also played a lot of our home games away from the Western Cape. I am proud of the effort,'' Barker said.
“For us to have competed against teams like Zamalek, Simba, RS Berkane, to get ourselves this close to getting to the final, I think it's credit to the team. Considering that it was our first adventure in Africa, I think we've done well and we did all we could.
“Obviously, we'd like to continue our journey on the African continent, so we still have important league games. We must try by all means to finish in that third position to return next season. We've learnt a lot from this competition and I think next year if we qualify, we'll be very competitive.”
As much as he was a little bit disappointed that they couldn't reach the final, the Stellies coach congratulated fellow South African, Davids, and his technical team for reaching the decider.
“We're disappointed, but at the same time, I wish Fadlu and his South African technical staff of Simba all the best in the final. It was a hard-fought game over the two legs, a game with a lot of fine margins and one or two didn't go our way,'' Barker said.
Stellies' last five league fixtures
Tomorrow: v Chippa (H)
Saturday: v Arrows (A)
17 May: v SuperSport (H)
24 May: v CPT City (A)
* They're still to face Sundowns away after the game was postponed (the league is yet to confirm the date).
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