Stellenbosch FC’s coach, Steve Barker, has admitted that his team faces a tough challenge in overcoming Polokwane City in their upcoming Nedbank Cup encounter.
Despite a promising start to their 2024/2025 Betway Premiership campaign, Stellies have found themselves struggling with consistency, currently sitting in ninth place on the league table.
With just five wins from their 14 league matches, alongside five draws and four losses, Stellenbosch has yet to hit their stride this season. Their performance has been marked by an uneven run, leaving them with much to prove as they aim for a better second half of the campaign.
In the Nedbank Cup round of 32, Stellenbosch managed to edge past Kruger United, a team currently placed 10th in the Motsepe Foundation Championship. Despite falling behind 1-0 early in the second half to Onyedikachi Ononogbu’s 54th-minute strike, Stellies fought back with goals from Langelihle Phili (69’) and Devin Titus (75’) to secure a 2-1 victory.
Polokwane City, on the other hand, will pose a formidable threat to Stellenbosch. Sitting third in the league standings, they have proven their resilience, having triumphed 1-0 over ABC Motsepe side The Bees in their round of 32 clash. With their strong league form, Polokwane will undoubtedly be a difficult opponent for Barker’s side to overcome.
Ahead of Thursday’s game at the Danie Craven Stadium, Barker told his club’s website: “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.
“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.”
Barker added that his team will need to be wary of Rise and Shine playmaker Oswin Apollis.
“Polokwane City have been effective in what they do this season, especially in a player like Apollis who is a bit of their talisman,” he explained.
“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.
“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.”
The last time these two sides faced each other, in the league, the game ended in a 1-1 draw. Kick off at the Danie Craven Stadium is set for 19:00 later this evening.