CAFCC: Stellenbosch coach Barker after elimination- "I think we'll look back and be proud"

After an excellent debut in the CAF Confederation Cup that saw his team reach the semifinals, Stellenbosch FC coach Steve Barker expressed pride in the South African team's showing after Stellies were eliminated by Tanzania's Simba SC on Sunday.

A 0-0 second leg draw was not enough for Stellies, who could not find a goal after falling 0-1 away from home in the first leg played in Zanzibar. Despite the disappointment of failing to progress to the final, Barker emphasized that he held no bitter feelings in a post-match interview with SABC:

"We've tried everything in our capabilities to try and get a goal, to try and take it to penalties. I can't fault the effort, I can't fault the commitment, I thought we were obviously the better team."

"You know we played against some really big teams on the African continent whether it be Simba, Zamalek, Berkane...and I think we've shown that we can hold our own. I trust that we have made South Africa proud of our efforts to reach this far in our first-ever season in the Confed...I believe it is the start of many other journeys."

"Once the dust settles and we get over this disappointment, I think we'll look back and be very proud of what we achieved throughout the tournament."

Barker stated that now the focus for his team is to make a positive return to play in the Betway Premiership so that Stellenbosch can compete in CAF club competition next season:

"Disappointed for now but we've got a league campaign...we play Wednesday again. So, important for us to get back and get ourselves back into the Confed. We've enjoyed it, we want to be here. So in the league we still have work to be done."

Stellies return to Betway Premiership play on Wednesday with a fixture at home against Chippa United. The Western Cape side currently sit three points back of third placed Sekhukhune United, who occupy the Confederation Cup spot but have played two more matches than Stellenbosch.