Stellenbosch FC aim for a "special season" despite CAF Confederation Cup heartache

Stellenbosch FC coach Steve Barker has urged his team to shake off the disappointment of failing to progress to the CAF Confederation Cup final quickly if they are to remain on course for a “special season”.

The PSL rookies have shattered glass ceilings this season, reaching a first-ever MTN8 final, and enjoying a magical maiden continental journey, which ultimately ended with a goalless draw against Tanzanian giants Simba FC at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Sunday.

Stellies had lost the first-leg 1-0 away in Zanzibar and could unfortunately not find an equaliser in KwaZulu-Natal to push the match into extra-time. 

But now having failed to win the Confederation Cup at their first attempt, Barker’s team need to switch their focus back to the Betway Premiership where they currently occupy fourth place with 38 points.

They have, however, played one match less than Sekhkhune United (41 points) and face a crucial clash against Chippa United on Wednesday at the Danie Craven Stadium in their bid to reclaim third place, which promises an automatic return to the CAF Confederation Cup next season. 

“Yeah I think you know I try to sort of just remind the players that football will have highs and we'll have lows and we'll have setbacks and good times,” Barker said/

“So we've come off an emotional two-legged game against Simba. It was not easy, you know in Tanzania. So yeah we have a 24-hour rule to get ourselves back to zero and we are on a minus three to four now from the disappointment. But we need to get back.

“We have a big game on Wednesday in the league and so it's important for us to refocus. We've got less than a month to turn the season into a special season. 

“So if we can manage to again qualify for Confed, having made the MTN final, having made the (CAF) semi-final, I think we can then look back at the season as being a really really good season. But as I say it's still a lot of work to be done.”

Both CAF semifinal legs were punctuated with controversial Video Assistant Referee (VAR) decisions, particularly in the second leg where Simba FC and Stellies had on-field penalty decisions overturned after being checked via the technology.

Stellies also had a Devon Titus “goal” overruled due to an offside picked up in the buildup.

Having seen his team fall foul to major refereeing blunders in local competitions, most notably the MTN8 Final against Mamelodi Sundowns where there was no VAR in place, Barker maintained his stance that there is a place for technology.

“Look I’ve always advocated for VAR to be in our league, if decisions don’t go your way basically you know where to look and make the right decision, I think it’s the right way going forward,” said Barker.

“I do think, unfortunately, last week the VAR decision was left again in the referee's hands to make a decision when the player was impeded which I felt that he was, so I don’t think that should have been awarded a goal and today unfortunately I haven’t had the opportunity to look at all the VAR decisions so it will unwise for me to comment on it.

“I’ve been told that the goal that we scored was marginally offside, so I think VAR is there to make things as fair as possible. We can’t want something, then when we get it, be upset with it.

“So to answer your question once I’ve seen all of them, I’ll be able to make an informed decision but I do hope that we do get VAR. We were bit unlucky in the decisions that went against us in the last two games.”