Johannesburg - Stellenbosch FC will be looking to once again make life tricky for league champions Mamelodi Sundowns when the two teams meet in a Nedbank Cup quarter-final clash at the Athlone Stadium on Saturday night.
Steve Barker’s Stellies side was in a good run of form up until the start of April. They have lost their last two games against Royal AM and Kaizer Chiefs which would have not been ideal preparation ahead of their game against the best team in the country.
However, Barker’s side has a knack for making life hard for the Masandawana based on recent history, certainly more so than the vast majority of teams in South Africa.
Downs have only won one out of their last four games against Stellies, two of which have been draws. The teams drew 1-1 when they last met in early March. Barker’s side did also inflict a memorable 3-0 defeat over Downs when the teams last late last season, a match during which now Kaizer Chiefs attacker Ashley Du Preez was the destroyer in chief for the Cape-based side.
Barker does believe that his sides’ recent displays against Downs can give them confidence.
“It (the 1-1 draw) definitely does give us some confidence. We’ve analysed the game and we did a lot of really good things on the day. We did cause them quite a lot of problems. The disappointing part for me was that we didn’t allow them to score in open play. In terms of how we played, in our structure, we didn’t make it comfortable or easy for them, and especially on the transition, we looked dangerous,” said Barker.
Barker is also aware that his side can ill-afford to make errors in this game or they will stand to be severely punished. On paper, Downs are, after all, the better side in nearly every department.
“You have to play to your full potential against a team like Sundowns. You have to execute your game plan to the best of your ability. Obviously, when they have possession and they have the ball, we have to be really well structured, organised, and stick to our defensive structures as best we can,” said Barker.
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