Steve Barker stood proud as his 10-man Stellenbosch FC side secured a hard-fought point at home against Orlando Pirates on Tuesday.
Stellenbosch hosted Orlando Pirates at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town on Tuesday evening in a clash between the second and third-placed teams in the 2024-25 Betway Premiership standings.
Following their controversial exit from the Nedbank Cup over the weekend, Stellies aimed to bounce back with a strong showing against the Buccaneers but faced an early setback when defender Brian Onyango received a first-half red card.
Despite being a man down, the Cape Winelands side displayed remarkable defensive resilience, holding the visitors to a goalless draw—leaving coach Steve Barker with plenty to be proud of.
“The one thing I sometimes do when I get home after we’ve drawn a game is that I’m a little bit down, and my family always say ‘Well at least you didn’t lose’ and I always say ‘Yes, but we lost two points’ but today was a different story,” Barker said on the club’s website.
“I think it was a point gained considering the circumstances of playing with 10 men for as long as we had to, so I think it’s a really good point for us against a really good team.
“It keeps us on our mini-unbeaten run which has now gone to six in the league, including three wins and three draws. I always tell the players that to be in the top three—which is our ambition—we have to go on those sorts of runs.
“Coming away with at least a point today was a moral victory and felt like a victory.”
He added, “Sometimes you win games by four or five goals to nil by playing really good football and you’re proud of your team, but tonight I was proud in a different way.
“Just the resilience, commitment, and attitude that the players showed—if you can do that over a long period of time you will enjoy more success than not.”
Stellies are next in action against Sekhukhune United on Sunday, 16 March, kick-off is set for 17:45.