Stellenbosch FC coach Steve Barker says his team is pushing for a top-eight finish in the DSTV Premiership this season after surviving relegation by a whisker last season.
Playing in their third season in top-flight football, the Western Cape side seems to have found their footing and are punching above their weight. Stellies are second on the log behind run-away leaders and defending champions, Mamelodi Sundowns. They host eighth-placed AmaZulu FC at the Danie Craven Stadium tomorrow afternoon.
Stellenbosch FC and Mamelodi Sundowns are the only unbeaten sides in the DSTV Premiership. Stellies trail the table-topping Brazilians by five points after 10 matches, although they have played one more match than Sundowns. They have recorded five wins in their league campaign, with five draws having conceded just six goals. But they host a tricky AmaZulu in their next encounter.
“As a football club we are very happy with the start that we’ve had obviously you know to be second on the log with twenty points after ten matches are really positive for us. We aim to continue with the form that we have. You know there’s no easy game in the PSL to have gone ten games unbeaten is something that we are really proud of and we want to continue. We do have difficult games coming up; we do have a block of fixtures where we play eight in thirty two days,” says Barker.
AmaZulu coach Benni McCarthy is expecting a tough game.
“They are second in the league they are doing really well and we know it’s going to be an extremely tough challenge, tough game away to Stellenbosch but that’s a challenge we are up for it. We want to get ourselves back amongst the top four and tough games, tough challenges are what we have to face,” says McCarthy.
Malesela hoping for a win
Newly appointed Marumo Gallants coach, Dan Malesela, is expected to hit the ground running at the relegation-threatened side. Gallants are the only side still to register a win this season, and they are bottom of the log with just four points after nine matches. They travel to the high-flying SuperSport United this weekend.
“I want this club to play to win, you know because we are playing good football. We’ve been playing good football all the time you know but we haven’t really focused on the most important thing of football of what the team wants which is winning matches. So we want to see that there is that objective there is a reason why we play. There must be a reason why we keep possession and the must be a reason why we do things on the field,” says Malesela.
Also in trouble this season is Mpumalanga-based side TS Galaxy, who are second from the bottom. With just a single win in the league, Galaxy has collected five points from 10 outings. They welcome the struggling Swallows FC at the Mbombela Stadium on Sunday.
“Of course we need to win, we have to know that we have to be on our best to win games because every game now is a tough game because the opponents they also try to win, they are also down so now we have like four games against teams that are like close to us and this is the most important thing. So we have to close the gap, that’s why the most important thing now is to win the games,” says TS Galaxy coach Sead Ramovic.
The biggest clash of the weekend will be a repeat of the MTN-8 final, with Cape Town City hosting Mamelodi Sundowns at the Cape Town Stadium on Sunday. City will be looking for revenge after losing to Sundowns on penalties in Durban three weeks ago.
“We want to see a good response from them leading to this game. Tough game against Sundowns at home but it’s at home and at home we need to dictate, we need to be positive, we need to play without fear and we need to get back to winning ways and I think that’s very important,” says Cape Town City coach Eric Tinkler.
