Staff Reporter.
Stellenbosch FC coach Steve Barker has hailed the fighting spirt of his players after their dramatic come-from-behind victory over Cape Town City in the DStv Premiership on Friday night.
The 3-2 win lifted the Winelands club out of the relegation zone and into 12th spot as they registered their first success since October.
“I think it was an incredible result for us,” said Barker, whose side had been 2-0 down after 40 minutes but rallied amid passionate derby scenes at the Danie Craven Stadium.
“We went down early after four minutes from a set piece. And, you know, a team that lies near the bottom of the table would have let their heads dropped. But I thought the response in the first half was probably one of the best performances I’ve seen from a Stellenbosch team, to really put pressure for the rest of the whole half and create a couple of chances.
“That one other entry into our half, from which they then scored, was a bit of a travesty to be to two down at the stage. I think the goal that Devon Titus scored just before halftime was just what was needed, because it brought us into the change room only one down and not two.”
Barker said he then spelt out clearly to the side that they had the potential to win over their provincial rivals.
“The message in the change room at halftime was, ‘listen, we’re going to win this game, there’s no doubt in my mind, we’re not playing for the draw, we’re not going to try and get back to 2-2, we’re going to get to 2-2 and then we’re gonna go on and win the game’. That was the message they deserved. They’d worked hard.
“They’ve been written off but what I’ve never ever seen is a lack of commitment. They continued to show that in the second half. The second half was not as controlled from us as the first half but I think just sheer determination, sheer support from the crowd, who really got behind the team, got us over the line and deserve to get the win,” Barker added.