Barker praises Stellies as they punch above weight, shocking Zamalek

Stellenbosch FC coach Steve Barker said South African football is in a healthy state after his side shocked highly fancied Zamalek of Egypt to advance to the Confederation Cup semifinals. 

Stellies have joined Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates who have progressed to the Champions League semifinals, where they face Egyptian sides Al Ahly and Pyramids FC respectively. Stellies made history for South African football as it is the first time three sides have reached the semis in the two Caf interclub competitions, while also the first occasion in which there have been two sides from this country in the Champions League last four.

Barker's side meet Tanzanian side Simba FC, coached by South African former Orlando Pirates co-coach and assistant Fadlu Davids.

Stellenbosch secured their 1-0 aggregate victory against the defending champions through a 79th-minute goal by Sihle Nduli at Cairo International Stadium in their second leg on Tuesday night, after a 0-0 draw at home. 

“Our football is healthy, it is good that there are certain regions that can compete against the greats of African football, which is North Africa. We are proud of what we are doing and are looking forward to the match against Simba,” Barker said. 

His team, in fifth place in the Betway Premiership, have made considerable progress in recent years.

Ambitious Stellies, promoted to the top flight in 2019, have the financial clout and stability that comes from being owned by billionaire Johann Rupert's Remgro, though they are run on a tight budget. They have excellent development and scouting programmes and a world-class facility at Stellenbosch University's high performance sports unit, and Barker has forged them into one of the Premiership's most competitive outfits. 

“This season we were in the final of the MTN8 where we played against teams such as Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns and we held our own,” the coach said.

“It shows South African football is strong because our national team did well at the last Afcon and we have qualified for the coming one and we may qualify for the World Cup.”

Barker said Stellies had to dig deep to upset Egyptian giants Zamalek in front of their fanatical supporters in the 80,000-seat Cairo International Stadium. 

“It was not an easy match. Zamalek had a lot of possession and we had to stay in the game for as long as possible. We knew if we did that, pressure would be on Zamalek. 

“We scored late in the second half and that made it difficult for them to come back. Our game plan was to be tight and not concede because we knew they would become nervous as the game went on.  

“They played a lot in front of us and not behind, which is not what I thought they would do. In the first half they controlled the game well but they did not create big chances and we were comfortable defending.  

“It was important not to concede an away goal. In South Africa they had a big chance but we made a huge save and that was the turning point of this tie. Had they scored in the first leg, it would have made our task of coming here difficult.”