Stellenbosch FC coach Steve Barker is confident his team will overturn their 1-0 defeat in Zanzibar when they face Simba FC in the second leg of their Confederations Cup semifinal in KwaZulu-Natal this week.
Barker’s charges conceded their first goal in four matches, including the two-legged quarterfinal victory over Egyptian giants Zamalek, when 23-year-old Ivorian Jean Charles Ahoua slotted home past Oscarine Masuluke in the Stellies goal on the stroke of halftime.
It was enough for the Tanzanian side to take the spoils and head down to South Africa with an all-important advantage.
Stellenbosch FC will be hosting the visitors at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban instead of in the Western Cape due to the Stormers rugby team playing at the DHL Stadium on Saturday.
Under the CAF regulations all stadia have to be handed over to the governing body two days before the match for the visiting team to train on the playing pitch.
Barker believes he has seen enough in Zanzibar for his team to go out and create history in Durban by beating Simba FC.
“We were a stronger team ... [and] obviously we were trying to get an away goal,” Barker said.
“I am very confident [that] when we are home, we will overcome this deficit, and we will be in the final. There’s no surety that we will get to the final, but based on what I’ve seen, Simba are beatable.”
Meanwhile, Simba FC’s South African-born coach Fadlu Davids was disappointed with the effort of his team.
The former Orlando Pirates assistant coach feels that Simba FC had sufficient chances in the first-leg but to wastefulness failed to bury the tie.
“The players have to realise the stage we are in, we are in the semi-final stage, and in the semi-final stage, you don’t get big opportunities like we had this season, in this competition and especially in this match,” Davids said.
“So, clearly we have to improve this performance, it was definitely not good enough in terms of what the players can do and we really expect and I know believe me, my players will be ready for the return leg once we get to South Africa.”
The 43-year-old believes Stellies did not create any meaningful opportunities outside of the aerial threat they pose from setpieces.
“I think the game was like we exactly expected, they started with long balls, long throw ins, and long throwing, corner kicks, set-pieces and transitions were their main threats, but the main threat were the long throw ins, and in the first half they stopped the ball and started long balls into the box, and then anything could happen with the weather conditions,” Davids said.
“But our objective is done in terms of keeping a clean sheet, but you know, we are a big club, Simba Sports Club is a big club, and we cannot be happy with a scoreline like these especially when you really have moments to make it two, to make it three, even to make it four zero.”
The second leg will be played on Sunday at 3pm.