Barker Blames Red Card Curse For Chiefs Defeat
Stellenbosch FC coach Steve Barker has expressed his frustration, noting that a red card once again played a role in a loss to Kaizer Chiefs. This comes after his team suffered a 2-0 defeat to Chiefs in a Betway Premiership match on Sunday.
The turning point occurred early in the game at Athlone Stadium when Stellenbosch’s Siviwe Nkwali received a red card in the 13th minute, forcing the team to play with ten men for most of the match.
Barker lamented the recent trend, saying his team has struggled against Chiefs lately despite achieving more favorable results against them in the past.
Unfortunately, it has just been of late. It hasn’t always been the case. I think we got our fair share of results in the past,” said Barker.
“But yeah, of late, it just seems they’re a team that seems to have one over us right now. So, yeah, it’s unfortunate.”
This latest defeat marks the fourth consecutive win for the Amakhosi against Stellenbosch, including two league victories and a Nedbank Cup quarterfinal win last season.
“Next time when we play them, we have to find a way to get ourselves a win against them,” continued Barker.
“But it always feels like a double blow when you get a red card and a goal against you at the same time.
“So, sometimes it’s not worth the red card because you’d rather be 1-0 down, and still have 10 men, your chance of getting a point is probably higher than they are not scoring. And you are 10 men down and are 0-0, and probably the advantage, they still get the results at the end of the day.”
“So, it was just a big blow for us, and it’s not the first time against Chiefs that there’s been a red card or an incident that led to them winning the game.
“So, yeah, it’s not through lack of effort or trying to beat them, it just seems like our luck against them is just not where it should be right now, but we need to be better in certain situations.”
Stellenbosch is now preparing for their next match against Magesi FC at Seshego Stadium on Wednesday.
