By Ntokozo Magongo
MBABANE – Stellenbosch Coach Steve Barker has described Nsingizini Hotspurs as a well coached and drilled team after the first leg of the CAF Confederations Cup first round preliminary round.
The two sides will clash in the second leg on Saturday at Moses Mabhida Stadium with the South Africa side leading 3-0 after the big win on Saturday in Durban. Both sides were debuting in the Confederations of African Football (CAF) continental tournament.
Barker lauded his players’ performance from Andre de Jong, Devin Titus, and Fawaaz Basadien gave the team from the Cape Winelands an upper hand.
“As expected, our opposition are a very well-coach and well-drilled team in terms of their defensive structure, which made it difficult for us to create chances. The key was to remain patient and keep probing, and then hopefully something would happen. As it was, from good open-play football, we ended up scoring from more of a messy situation.
“But, sometimes you get rewarded that way from the pressure you apply on the opposition, and something comes from it, and I thought we were worth our lead heading into the second half,” Barker told stellenboschfc.com.
“It was our first-ever inter-continental club game, so to come away from home and win the game 3-0, credit must go to the players for a really good performance. One thing that we need to understand, is that the tie is not over,” Barker added.
Barker said the game was not finished; it was only half-time. He said they had come out next week and shows the same character and attitude.
“I can anticipate that our opponents will really come out for it because they have nothing to lose. They need to try to get themselves back into the tie, so we expect another tough game, as was the case today.
“We’re looking forward to it though and we’ve got a week of preparation ahead. We’ll get back to Cape Town, get a bit of refreshment and regeneration, and then prepare for next week, he concluded.
