‘Why it’s easy to prepare for Sekhukhune’ – Steve Barker | OneFootball

Interview

Barker sheds light on 'easy' Sekhukhune preparation

Photo: Ashley Vlotman/ Gallo Images

Stellenbosch FC head coach Steve Barker has explained why he believes it’s easy to prepare for the second leg of their MTN8 clash against Sekhukhune United, set to take place at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday.

The Cape Winelands outfit will head into the encounter with an advantage as they secured a commanding 2-0 victory, courtesy of goals from Kazie Enyinnaya and Devin Titus in the mother city last Saturday.

Barker’s men will be keen to make it to the MTN8 final for two seasons in a row, having lost to Orlando Pirates in the deciding match last season. The Soweto giants won the competition for three successive seasons, becoming the first club to achieve the feat in PSL history.

Now, with the second stanza of their encounter against Babina Noko on the horizon, the 57-year-old mentor shed light on why he takes no issue on facing the Limpopo club in quick succession, stating that it’s more of an advantage than a disadvantage.

“I think through past experience playing teams close past, there’s opportunities because one knows the opponent well enough. I wouldn’t say exactly but we’ve done our analysis before the first leg, and they’ve played midweek; they’ve got a good result,” said Barker.

“So, we know what to expect, we know what type of players they have. We played them recently, so in terms of our preparations, it does make it a bit easier, and the key part is just dealing with moments in the game. There will be big key moments, whether it’s us in possession looking to score a goal or looking to make sure that we don’t concede early.

The Maroons’ mentor continued: “I don’t see it as more difficult, I see it as two teams that know each other very well, having played each other very recently and preparations will be key. It will go down to details and that will be important in the match.