Stellenbosch heading back home

Stellenbosch will be returning home for the first time in six months when they host Kruger United at the Danie Craven Stadium in the first round of the Nedbank Cup on January 28.

Stellenbosch have been forced into a nomadic existence since their opening game of the season when they beat TS Galaxy in the MTN8 quarterfinal in August but on a bumpy, muddy and pot-holed pitch that was a quickly condemned by the Premier Soccer League, who shut down use of the stadium until it was fixed.

Since the club have been forced to play five home games in the Betway Premiership at either the Athlone Stadium or the Cape Town Stadium while have been forced even further afield in cup competition.

In the MTN8 semifinal in September, they hosted Mamelodi Sundowns at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban and used the same venue for their African Confederation Cup ties against Nsingizini Hotspurs from Eswatini and group game against Renaissance Berkane from Morocco.

Their last two matches in the Confederation Cup group stages have been played at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria where they beat both Desportivo Lunda-Sul of Angola and Stade Malien from Mali to book a berth in the quarterfinals.

Stellenbosch’s next Betway Premiership match at home to Sekhukhune United on February 1 is also set for the Danie Craven Stadium.