HERMAN GIBBS
Stellenbosch FC have sounded a warning to the chasing pack that one of the CAF Champions League spots up for grabs will be theirs next season.
Since runaway log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns will claim the other spot, Stellenbosch, Orlando Pirates, Sekhukhune United and SuperSport United will fight it out for the second.
After their come-from-behind 2-1 win over TS Galaxy at the Mbombela Stadium in Sunday’s DStv Premiership clash, Stellenbosch reclaimed the No 2 spot in the standings, opening a three-point gap ahead of third-placed Pirates (40 points).
Galaxy opened the scoring in the match through midfielder Marks Munyai just ahead of the half-time break. Stellenbosch wiped out the deficit through fullback Fawaaz Basadien early in the second half.
Before Galaxy could catch their breath, Andre de Jong – the New Zealand-born midfielder – scrambled home from a poorly cleared corner kick, a few minutes later. The Mbombela-based side was not able to recover from the setback and eventually went down 2-1 in a clash that ended on an acrimonious note.
Steve Barker, the Stellenbosch coach, feels the club has reached a defining period for their ambitions to finish as runners-up in the DStv Premiership and play Champions League football next year.
“We fought fire with fire tonight, dug deep and showed tremendous character,” said Barker, after Stellenbosch extended an unbeaten run in all competitions to 23 matches.
“I told my boys at half-time to up the intensity and they did. Given the strength of Galaxy at home I would have settled for a point, so to get all three is fantastic.”
Towards the end of the match, Galaxy lost their composure after the referee refused to award them a penalty after goalkeeper Sage Stephens crashed into right winger Sphiwe Mahlangu when he attempted to gather the ball.
The assistant referee had, however, spotted a Galaxy player who has strayed offside before the Stephens incident.
Sead Ramovic, the Galaxy manager, went ballistic for a while and had to be restrained by his supporting technical staff. Afterwards, he condemned the state of refereeing in the country.
“I do not want to have these kinds of arguments with referees, but I have been getting upset for two-and-a-half seasons now,” said the German-born Ramovic,
“The standard of refereeing is not good enough and it is killing many teams because club owners are investing a lot of money. In a professional league, the referees have to be professional in their job.”
Meanwhile, while the Winelands club is enjoying a purple patch, their neighbours further down the N1, Cape Town City, cannot land a Premiership win in 2024.
On Sunday they dropped points yet again away to Polokwane City and had to settle for a 2-2 draw. City’s top-eight spot is now in danger and coach Eric Tinkler is a worried man.
“It is the nature of the beast. There is a top goalscorer because he’s a good goalscorer but when the top goalscorer is not scoring, it’s because the coach is not getting him to score,” said Tinkler.
“Obviously, it’s a concern. We’re a very ambitious club that wants to achieve things, you know. Now we’ve got to go back, reset then next game against Arrows.”