Stellenbosch FC coach Steve Barker has targeted a long run in the Nedbank Cup for his side as they prepare to welcome Baroka FC for their Last 32 fixture on Friday.
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Stellies have been knocked out in the first round in three of their four appearances in the competition, though the draw has not always been kind – they have met Kaizer Chiefs twice and Mamelodi Sundowns in that time.
Barker says homeground advantage against a side they expect to beat gives the team the chance to make up for those disappointments.
“It has been a while since we have played as a team, so everybody is looking forward to the match. It has been a good, refreshing break for everybody,” Barker said.
“We have had a good opportunity in the last few weeks to work on certain things we wanted to improve as a team. I am looking forward to putting into practice those things against Baroka.
“We are excited by the new signings we have at the club and looking to integrate them into our squad. We have a clean bill of health, no injuries and no suspensions, we have a full squad available.
“Everyone is looking forward to having a really good cup run, we have had some tricky draws in the past which have challenged us. But at home to Baroka, we need to be getting into the Last 16.
“However, we respect any opposition that we play against, and we know their strengths as a team. They played well in our last encounter in December on our home ground, they caused us lots of problems.
“It was not our best performance, but we were able to get a victory over them. We need to be far better this coming Friday to get a positive result. We are positive we will get past them and progress in the competition.”
Barker led second-tier University of Pretoria to the Nedbank Cup final in 2009, where they were narrow 1-0 losers to Moroka Swallows.