Scoring just 18 goals from the same number of league outings doesn’t sit well with Stellenbosch coach Steve Barker.
Now Barker has demanded an improved goal conversion rate from his troops. Stellenbosch host Swallows in a league match at Danie Craven Stadium tomorrow (5.30pm).
“We have to make sure that we start creating and scoring more of our chances. Having only scored 18 goals in 18 matches isn’t good enough. We need to do better. It’s our big focus to improve on that,’’ said Barker.
Barker views the Swallows encounter as a perfect opportunity to realise their target of amassing 30 points as they are three points away from reaching this mark. Getting to 30 points with many games left has always been Stellies’ goal.
“The initial objective was to get to 30 points as quickly as possible. We have an opportunity to get there and still have 33 points to play for thereafter. A win against Swallows probably puts us in a position where we’d be highly disappointed should we not finish in the top-eight,’’ said Barker.
Stellenbosch head into the Swallows clash still licking their wounds after crashing out of the Nedbank Cup at the first hurdle, losing 1-0 to Baroka at home last Friday. Barker feels their bluntness upfront let them down against Baroka.
“The performance [against Baroka] was sufficient enough in my opinion to get a better result. However, in football you have to put the ball at the back of the net, which we failed to do… we had numerous opportunities to do so,’’ he said.
“There were a lot of positives to take from the game but it doesn’t take away the fact that I am disappointed because I was really hoping for a good cup run. It’s important for us to refocus our energies on the league, which is our bread and butter.”
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