CAFCC: Stellenbosch FC not afraid of Simba SC -Barker

Stellenbosch players train: Photo Credit: Stellenbosch FC.

Stellenbosch FC head coach Steve Barker says his South African team is not afraid of facing Tanzania's Simba SC in the CAF Confederation Cup semifinal, second leg match, despite the first leg setback.

Barker reiterated that Stellenbosch SC’s chances of progressing to the final are alive. He said this ahead of the CAF Confederation Cup semifinal, second leg match at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Sunday, after losing 1-0 to the Tanzanian giants in the first leg last weekend.

“It’s a great position to be playing at this stage of the competition—it’s been a massive learning curve for us as a football team—and it’s not something we fear or are afraid of. We relish taking on the challenge. As I said, they were previously able to come back from a 2-0 scoreline, so there’s no reason we can’t do the same from a 1-0 scoreline,” he told his club’s media.

“We’re happy to be back home, and that we are still in the tie and in a competitive position. We have strong belief and confidence that we can continue to exceed expectations, and there’s no reason we can’t go into the game and make sure we get ourselves into a final.”

He added: “…We know what we need to do. We know that we have to score and try not to concede. Football is football, and you can never say that it can never happen, and if we do concede, then we know we’ll need to win by two goals.”

Earlier, Barker said he was confident in his team's ability to overcome the away 1-0 loss to Simba SC in the CAF Confederation Cup semifinals. The Tanzania Premier League side, coached by South African Fadlu Davids, won the game courtesy of Jean Ahoua's strike two minutes

Barker’s men stunned Zamalek SC 1-0 in the CAF Confederation Cup quarter-final second leg at the Cairo International Stadium, recently, to qualify for the last-four stage. Barker's men are participating in the competition for the first time.

The winner between Simba SC and the Western Cape-based side will face either CS Constantine or RSB Berkane in the final.