Barker Excited For Packed Stadium Against Chiefs

Stellenbosch coach Steve Barker is excited about his team’s opening Betway Premiership fixture against Kaizer Chiefs, believing his players deserve to compete in a packed stadium.

The Cape Winelands-based team will face the Soweto Giants at Athlone Stadium on Sunday (17:30).

Barker feels well-prepared for the match and is ready for the challenge against the Chiefs, who defeated Stellenbosch both at home and away during the 2024/25 season.

“It’s most certainly a nice start to the season to play a team of Kaizer Chiefs’ following and the team that they are,” said Barker.

“I think the stadium will be packed, and the players deserve to be playing in front of packed stadiums. They work hard the whole pre-season, so yeah, we’re excited for the challenge that awaits us.”

He added: “Just look at our fixtures over the whole of August, you know, we’ve got seven remaining games between now, so we’ll be playing a lot of matches and against a lot of really good opposition to our position.”

“So definitely allows us to set a good mark for the season by getting off to a good start, hopefully making a final and getting points on the board.”

Meanwhile, Stellenbosch is also preparing for the two-legged  MTN8 semi-final against Sekhukhune United. The PSL has confirmed the ticket sales and venues for the semi-finals, with the first leg scheduled to be played at Danie Craven Stadium on 16 August.

Furthermore, the 57-year-old is aiming to move past Sekhukhune, reach the finals, and further hopes to win the tournament, having lost 3-1 to Orlando Pirates in the final of the 2024/25 MTN8 edition.

“It’s always nice to stay in competitions. Our aim is now to get to the final, so it was good to get past,” Barker stated

‌‌‌‌Barker continued: “Yeah, Sekhukhune, you know any team that gets to the semifinals and they’ve shown real consistency.”

“They’ll be a good team and a tough team to play against in the semi-final, but we are looking forward to it. We made the final last season, so we would like to again be in the final and hopefully this time go all the way.”