Photo Credit - Stellenbosch FC.
Stellenbosch FC coach Steve Barker has admitted that they will have to be cautious when they take on Polokwane City in the Nedbank Cup Round of 16 contest at the Danie Craven Stadium on Thursday.
Polokwane are having a great season that has seen them currently placed third on the Betway Premiership table with 29 points from 17 matches. They have managed eight wins, drawn five and suffered four defeats.
“It’s never easy when you play a team from a lower division, but going from a goal down to Kruger United and coming back to get the job done has put us in a position to be in the last 16 against Polokwane City, who everyone knows is having a really good season,” Barker told the club’s official website ahead of the fixture.
“We do anticipate that in order for us to advance, we will have to be at our best and we’ll have to find a little bit of form because maybe in the last couple of games, we haven’t been at our best.
“Fortunately, a lot of the players that weren’t available, especially against Kaizer Chiefs, will be available for Thursday evening. The only doubtful ones are [Lehlogonolo] Mojela, who’s out for the long term, as well as Athenkosi Mcaba, but otherwise, everybody else comes into reckoning. We do also have two suspensions in Sihle Nduli and Kyle Jurgens.
“But we are really looking forward to the match. It’s a cup competition and it’s always nice to play in these types of competitions, especially in South African football where we’re now three games away from another final, starting on Thursday. It’s important for us to get past Polokwane, and then we can always take it from there…”
On Polokwane’s great season so far, Barker said: “Polokwane City have been effective in what they do this season, especially in a player like [Oswin] Apollis who is a bit of their talisman,” Barker added.
“He plays in a type of position where he cheats a little bit, which makes him dangerous on transition, and obviously he’s smart with his sort of decision-making and the quality of his passing.
“They’ve also got a solid defence – they had a bit of a setback with [Thabang] Matuludi who picked up an injury – but they have two seasoned centre-backs and [Ndamulelo] Maphangule has shown his quality, plus some wingers with good ability.”
He concluded: “They seem to be a tight-knit team working hard for each other, and, just taking the opportunities when they have been presented to them and being quite difficult to break down.
“We have played them in the league this season already, a 1-1 draw in which we had taken the lead with a really good goal before they got a deflected goal from a set piece situation, but they are having a good season. It’s up to us though, in our home game and with our ambitions, to ensure that we get past Polokwane City and get ourselves into the quarter-final.”
SuperSport United became the first team to qualify for the quarter-finals of the domestic competition following their 2-1 extra-time win against a stubborn Cape Town Spurs.
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