Stellenbosch tactician Steve Barker doesn’t want to read too much into their brilliant record against TS Galaxy as the two sides meet again in the Carling Knockout final at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday (3pm).
Stellenbosch, who are currently enjoying an unprecedented purple patch, have never lost to Galaxy with six wins and two draws in the eight fixtures they’ve played against them.
Stellies have gone nine games without a defeat, scoring an impressive 17 goals in the process while they leaked just two times. The Cape Winelands side last tasted defeat when they lost 3-1 away to Mamelodi Sundowns in the league back in September.
“It’s important that I first understand it and convey it to the players that finals are different occasions. Form goes out of the window. We can’t look at previous form against Galaxy,” Barker said yesterday.
“The more a team doesn’t beat you, the more they desire to get that first win against you, so I am sure Galaxy would like to break that hoodoo of not beating us...they’ll come with that desire to do it.”
The Stellies coach also sounded a little bit fazed by Galaxy’s tightness at the back, also identifying players like Higor Vidal, Siphiwe Mahlangu, Kamogelo Sebelebele and Lindokuhle Mbatha as threats. However, Barker vowed they’ll take the game to the Rockets, rather than trying to sit back and absorb pressure from them.
“They [Galaxy] are traditionally a difficult team to break down. They’ve shown in the past that they have the ability to keep clean sheets and to be tough nuts to crack. They are well-organised defensively,” Barker said.
“They’ve also improved on their attacking force...Vidal, the No.10, is a really smart player and wingers like Mahlangu, Sebelebele, Mbatha ... if he starts, are also clever and tricky players to deal with.
“They’ll be good in transition...they have a striker upfront who’s got good energy and good pace. I anticipate that they’ll be solid and compact. We need to be proactive not reactive, it’s a final, so we need to approach the game with a positive mindset and the ones that are forcing the pace etc.”
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