HERMAN GIBBS
On the eve of their maiden foray into Africa, the ambitious Stellenbosch FC have been shorn of their finest talents.
Over the weekend, Stellenbosch FC will be away to Eswatini outfit Nsingizini Hotspurs FC in a CAF Confederation Cup first preliminary round fixture. It will be a momentous occasion for the Winelands club after they qualified for the continental competition by virtue of their third-place finish in the DStv Premiership during the 2023/24 campaign.
https://x.com/orlandopirates/status/1822960914657603729
Alas, they will do so without two premier players who helped them become a force in local football. Over the weekend, Mamelodi Sundowns fended off interest from north Africa to snap up Stellenbosch’s prolific striker Iqraam Rayners.
If that wasn’t a big enough loss, Orlando Pirates dropped a bombshell yesterday afternoon. They were the latest PSL club to raid the Stellenbosch stock and came away with the highly-rated Deano van Rooyen, the club captain and leading defender.
Pirates’ announcement read: “Orlando Pirates Football Club Is pleased to announce the signing of Deano van Rooyen from Stellenbosch FC. The 27-year-old has signed a three-year contract with the Buccaneers, which includes an additional two-year option.”
This would have been bad news for coach Steve Barker, who would have earmarked these players for duties in the CAF fixtures over the next two weekends. On the other hand, Stellenbosch CEO Rob Benadie will be as pleased as punch that he could offload his star players for good money to two of the country’s ‘big three’ clubs.
Benadie said: “It has been a privilege to watch Deano grow over the last eight years from a young and hopeful talent into a household name in Stellenbosch.
“To see a local player break through the ranks and become a respected leader on the pitch and in our community has been a source of great pride for all associated with the club.
“While we are sad to see him leave, we are immensely grateful for his contributions and proud of all he has achieved and wish him nothing but success in his future endeavours.”
Stellenbosch will be back in action on Saturday and since Nsingizini Hotspurs do not have a CAF-approved venue, the match will be played in Durban. Next weekend’s return leg will be played in Stellenbosch.
Meanwhile, Cape Town City coach Eric Tinkler is feeling cock-a-hoop after their “upset” MTN8 quarter-final win over hosts Sekhukhune United over the weekend.
“The fact of the matter is that we finished fifth and Sekhukhune finished fourth (in the league). That makes us the surprise package in the MTN8,” said Tinkler.
City is the only team that finished outside of the top three last season remaining in the MTN8 competition. They will play defending champions Pirates at home in the first leg of the semi-final.
“We watched a lot of Pirates games while they were away in Spain. Pirates have a lot of quality at their disposal, they are a very big team and it is not going to be easy,” said Tinkler.
“I feel that they played a very open game against SuperSport. SuperSport could have taken the lead but they didn’t, and Pirates ended up victors.”