Stellenbosch FC achieve 'main objective' in first leg

Stellenbosch FC coach Steve Barker says his side achieved their main objective as they held current champions Zamalek to a 0-0 draw in the first leg of their CAF Confederation Cup quarterfinal clash at the Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday.

In a tightly contested game, neither side could break the deadlock, leaving it honours even before the second leg in Cairo next Wednesday.

The referee blows for fulltime. It's all left to play for in Cairo 👊

Stellenbosch FC 0️⃣–0️⃣ Zamalek SC pic.twitter.com/EqNii5CzdE

— Stellenbosch FC (@StellenboschFC) April 2, 2025

“Reaching this stage of the tournament against a team like Zamalek, we were obviously a little bit cautious,” Barker told reporters.

“We learnt our lessons playing against RS Berkane in the group stages, that you've got to start well and not concede early.

“So I think the first 20-25 minutes was a little bit of a cat-and-mouse type of situation, us seeing what they have to offer, and I'm sure they were seeing what we had to offer.

“So no real sort of chances being created, but I felt from around about the 25th minute to halftime, our players grew a little bit of confidence.

Despite Zamalek creating the best chance of the game in the closing stages, only denied by a super save from Stellenbosch goalkeeper Sage Stephens, Barker was pleased with his side’s control of the game and their defensive work.

“Obviously they created a big chance, which was a massive save from Sage, and then it came off the post. Besides that, I didn't feel that we were clinging on or having to defend for our lives,” Barker said.

Stellenbosch FC's Sage Stephens delivers an unforgettable save when it mattered most. 🤯#TotalEnergiesCAFCC pic.twitter.com/32NlCeRRwB

— TotalEnergies CAFCL & CAFCC 🏆 (@CAFCLCC) April 2, 2025

Having not conceded an away goal, the coach believes his side did what was needed to travel to Egypt with a chance of progressing, and is confident in their ability to fight for a semifinal spot away from home.

“The main objective was always to go to Cairo having a chance. We didn't want to go dead and buried,” Barker said.

“I believe the pressure shifts to Zamalek. With good preparation, now we know what we know, good analysis, and coming up with a really good game plan (Stellenbosch can advance).”

With a hostile environment expected, Barker says his side are used to playing against large away crowds and must find a way to use the energy to their advantage.

“We've got to thrive off it. We've got to use the crowd to actually emotionally get us engaged. And, you know, we can't go there fearing the crowd. I think we've got to use it as a positive and use triggers from the crowd to get us hyped, to be alert.”

Stellenbosch enjoyed the majority of possession in the second half, which Barker believes may not be the case when his side travel to Cairo.

“I do believe at home they're going to want to play more. I'm not sure what the coach will tell them, but I think the fans will demand that they try and dominate the game better, and have more possession of the ball,” he said.