We’re crawling over the line – Barker

PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA - APRIL 03, Aubrey Ngoma beats Patrick Tignyemb of Celtic to score a goal during the Absa Premiership match between University of Pretoria and Bloemfontein Celtic at Tuks Stadium on April 03, 2013 in Pretoria, South Africa Photo by Lefty Shivambu / Gallo Images

PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA - APRIL 03, Aubrey Ngoma beats Patrick Tignyemb of Celtic to score a goal during the Absa Premiership match between University of Pretoria and Bloemfontein Celtic at Tuks Stadium on April 03, 2013 in Pretoria, South Africa Photo by Lefty Shivambu / Gallo Images

Published Apr 4, 2013

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Pretoria – University of Pretoria coach Steve Barker believes his side are inching their way toward safety, after picking up a draw against Bloemfontein Celtic in their Absa Premiership clash in Pretoria on Wednesday.

First-half goals from either side ensured the teams were made to share the spoils, after Tuks' Vincent Kobola put the ball into his own net in the second minute, before Aubrey Ngoma leveled the game on the half-hour mark, leaving the sides deadlocked after 90 minutes.

“Obviously you want to be winning games and not drawing, but one's got to take each game into it's own context,” Barker said at the Tuks Stadium after the game.

“We have to get there one point at a time, obviously it changes your focus a little bit.

“It's a question of crawling over the line instead of sprinting over the line, so one point at a time.”

Wednesday's stalemate extended AmaTuks record to four consecutive PSL draws, including a 2-2 draw with Platinum Stars, as well as a vital goalless draw with defending champions Orlando Pirates in Soweto over the weekend.

Sitting 10th in the league standings, Barker admitted he was aware of the teams around them, with Mamelodi Sundowns just a point behind, while Celtic themselves remain two points ahead of the University outfit in ninth.

“If we weren't picking up points, we'd be in a far more precarious position, so I'm not dissatisfied,” Barker said.

“If you look at teams around us, at the bottom especially, they're losing four on the trot or they've only won one in five.

“At least we're consistently picking up points and at this stage I'd rather be picking up a point every game.”

Barker reaffirmed that surviving relegation was a priority for the club and was confident that a positive result in the coming games would be enough to see the Premiership debutants over the line.

“We're probably one win away from being safe. We still have seven games and I'm certain that we'll get that win, if not more,” he said.

“It's disappointing because we put in good enough performances to get three points and it's just not happening right now, but we'll keep working hard.

“Had we been winning a couple of the draws, one could be looking to challenge in the top eight but at this stage we just have to get to a position where we have enough points not to have to be mindful of teams below us.”

Meanwhile, a disappointed Clinton Larsen said his Celtic side should have closed out the game after dominating their hosts during the second half, but was happy to walk away with a point on the road, considering their heavy 3-0 defeat to log-leading Kaizer Chiefs last weekend.

“I don't think our decision making in the final third was where we needed it to be,” Larsen said.

“But we have to punish teams. When you're dominating teams like we did in the first 30 minutes of the second half, you have to make those moments count and we just didn't capitalise on that dominance.

“Our away record has been poor this season, it's a point away from home, I suppose we'll take it. We were looking for all three but it's good that we bounced back after the Chiefs defeat.

In Wednesday's other results, Chiefs were forced to come from a goal down to salvage a 1-1 draw with Maritzburg United at the Peter Mokaba Stadium, while Pirates were held to the same score by AmaZulu at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.

Golden Arrows bagged a 2-1 away win over Chippa United and Platinum Stars kept the pressure on the top two teams with a 1-0 victory over Free State Stars at the Charles Mopeli Stadium, keeping them in third and in the hunt for the title.

On Tuesday, Mamelodi Sundowns eased past Ajax Cape Town with a 3-1 victory in Pretoria, Moroka Swallows claimed a 1-0 win over Black Leopards, while SuperSport United were held to their 14th draw of the season against Bidvest Wits. – Sapa

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