Stellenbosch coach Steve Barker bemoaned bad luck for Wednesday’s 4-0 drubbing by Marumo Gallants in the Carling Knockout quarterfinals, urging his players to get over this heavy defeat as soon as possible and focus on the league.Stellenbosch, who have been uncharacteristically unconvincing in the league so far, would be hoping to garner only their third league win of the campaign when they face TS Galaxy at Mbombela Stadium on Sunday (3.30pm).Stellies have already lost five matches, with three draws and two wins in the Betway Premiership thus far. Ndabayithethwa Ndlondlo scored a brace in a rainy evening at Dr Molemela stadium, while Monde Mphambaniso, Jaisen Clifford and Jaisen Clifford also contributed to Marumo’s progress to the semifinals. They will play Golden Arrows on an unconfirmed date on the weekend between November 8-9. “We were beaten fairly and squarely in terms of the scoreline. Congratulations to Marumo; they took their opportunities well, and I wish them well going forward in the competition. In saying that, sometimes in football all your bad luck comes in one game,” Barker said.“If we analyse the game, I think in the first half we were the better team, and we created a lot of turnovers in their final third, but we weren’t clinical enough. We couldn’t get the goal we deserved in the first 35 minutes.“It seemed like their first goal was from an offside position, so luck was just not on our side because there was also a penalty shout on Butsaka that wasn’t given.”Barker said that it was crucial to put behind them the defeat by Magesi and concentrate on the next league matches.“A lot of lessons to be learnt, especially because there are big games coming up in the league. It’s important that we get over this loss as soon as possible,” Barker said.
2025-10-31 04:15:00
Barker blames ‘bad luck’ for drubbing
