He’s the talk of the town
As a former Stellenbosch FC player, this is an exciting time for Diego Brown. The coastal side might have a disadvantage going into the second leg on the back of a 2-1 defeat in the first encounter, but he believes they have what it takes to finally get t
Tshepang Mailwane: After the first leg encounter, where do you think Stellies can hurt Bucs?
Diego Brown: With cup games, it’s always different. I think with the break Stellenbosch had, it gave them a lot of time to prepare for the second leg. As players, you look forward to these kinds of games. I am a Stellies boy and I think they can go to Orlando and cause an upset. I think what’s important is for them to stay organised and stick to their plan. If they can do that, then they can cause a lot of damage for Pirates. They are young and energetic, so I think they can hurt Pirates by making those runs behind the defence, with Antonio van Wyk having a good season so far. I think they can also hurt Pirates with set-pieces. I really think Stellies can go there and cause an upset, but it’s not going to be easy because they are going to be playing against a well-organised team. Like I said, cup games are different to league games.
TM: Zakhele Lepasa has been in fine form for the home side…
DB:
Lepasa is having a dream start to the season. As a striker, you always want to get off on a good note, especially when you look back at the last few seasons where things have not been so good for him. I’m really happy for him because he’s finding his feet and he’s becoming known for being lethal in front of goal. But he will be a marked man now because he is putting himself out there. People are sitting back and taking note of him, so that means they can plan for him and figure out how to stop him. He’s got that confidence and arrogance and he knows that he has got a goal in him. If you want to be Man of the Match in a game like this, then you have to stop Lepasa. I am sure coach Steve Barker has already worked on something because he is an organised coach. So, I think the Stellenbosch defence will have their work cut out. It’s going to take something extra to try to stop this guy because he is the talk of the town. It will be a good test for the Stellenbosch defence.
TM: In contrast, Iqraam Rayners has had a rather slow start to the season.
DB:
Iqraam has been doing well since coming back to Stellenbosch. Last season, he had a beautiful end to the campaign by scoring so many goals and being the go-to guy for the team. I think he has been doing well, but he has not had the start to the season that he would have wanted. Maybe this is the game where he can get that confidence back and who knows, the rest will follow.
People are looking to him to get the goals, but there are other people around him to help and can ease the burden for him. I think these are the games he looks forward to and I think this will be the perfect game for him to get those goals and get back that confidence. I’m sure he wants to improve his numbers from last season. I still believe he’s one of the best strikers in the country. This is the game where he can get that feeling back.
TM: What’s the best way for your former team to approach a game like this?
DB:
The best way for Stellenbosch to approach this game is to be brave. They should attack. They should not sit back and wait for Pirates to come at them. Stellenbosch has the energy in the team and I think they should use this. They should just believe in themselves. They haven’t had the best of starts in the league, so this is the moment where they should go there and just be brave. They should have a go at Pirates. They should not wait to play on the counterattack. They have an ability to go out there from the start and attack.
TM: What would it mean for Stellies to reach their first cup final?
DB:
For the people of Stellenbosch, it would mean a lot. If there are no red cards in this game, then I think Stellenbosch has a good chance of reaching the final. If you look at the history of Stellenbosch against the so-called big teams of South Africa, there’s always been a factor of the officials, where a Stellenbosch player gets a red card, and the game is not even. For them to reach the final would be huge. They don’t even have to win the final. It would just be huge for Stellenbosch as a community. Stellenbosch is close to my heart, so it would be huge. They have to go into this game with great mental strength and tell themselves that it’s possible to get past this stage. It will all come down to how the players arrive on the day, how they start the game and how they compete and how much they really want to win on the day.
TM: Your prediction? DB:
I’m definitely going with Stellenbosch to progress to the final. I want to see them going to the final and I want to see them breaking this duck of getting knocked out in the semi-finals. They have a good team and a good coaching staff. If you are a Stellenbosch player now, all you need to do is give your best and play for that badge and the rest will take care of itself.