Stellenbosch driven by ambition, not money

SO WHAT is this promotion playoff competition all about? In a nutshell: Money, prestige and the opportunity to make even more money. When Stellenbosch FC get their playoff campaign under way with an opening fixture against Baroka FC at Athlone Stadium this afternoon (3pm kickoff ), it’s the start of their desire to secure a place among the elite football clubs in the Premier Soccer League.

The race for promotion to the top-flight PSL will be contested by three clubs – Stellenbosch, Black Leopards and Baroka.

For Stellenbosch, money and prestige, no doubt, matter – but, more than that, they are an ambitious club. There is no thought of a sale in their minds. The only goal for club boss Mario Ferreira, who is also a majority shareholder at Portuguese club Vitoria Guimaraes, is to have his club competing with the best in the country.

By doing so, he can put in place the structures for his vision of a proper, top-flight partnership between Stellenbosch and Guimaraes.

This is the Cape Winelands team’s big opportunity – and, in putting the squad together, the most important feature for head coach Sammy Troughton was the spine of the team. From goalkeeper, to the centre of defence, central midfield and striker, he made sure that this was where the strength was. And the strategy is the same for the playoffs over the next few weeks.

It’s no secret that any team with designs on success needs a reliable goalkeeper. So, when the University of Pretoria decided to release Zimbabwean custodian Washington Arubi, Stellenbosch pounced to bring the player to the Cape. Troughton had worked with the experienced shot-stopper before, and the 31-year-old hasn’t disappointed.

He’s played a vital role in getting Stellenbosch to the playoffs and, now, he’s hoping to inspire them to the PSL.

In the centre of defence, Stellenbosch have an excellent duo in Marcus Lecki and Junaid Sait.

In reflecting on Baroka, Stellenbosch’s opposition tonight, their strength was quite evident when they beat Ajax Cape Town at the weekend. The Polokwane side is extremely difficult to break down; they are an organised side that keeps coming and keeps fighting.

If there’s one thing Stellenbosch are going to have to do tonight, then it’s to try and find a way beyond their resolute and committed defensive structure.

For that purpose, Stellenbosch will look to their midfield, where the creative Stanley Muishond and the industrious Tshepo Mabua do duty. The duo has IF a tournament could be won by a number of scoring opportunities you create during every match you get to play in, then Banyana Banyana could have walked away as Africa Women Cup Nations champions in Cameroon last year. This is the view of Banyana’s interim coach Desiree Ellis, who feels the women’s senior national team cannot continue with this pattern squandering scoring opportunities in game situations, if they are to qualify for their first ever Fifa Women’s World in next year’s Afcon edition. Banyana missed out on that chance back in 2014 where they finished outside the top three Caf spots for teams that were to represent Africa at the 2015 World Cup in Canada the following year. Ellis admitted she would hate to go through the same feeling, should her side qualify for next year’s women’s Afcon in Ghana, but later miss out on a top three finish and a World Cup spot again. “We don’t want to go through what we went through back in 2014,” Ellis said. “We created so many scoring opportunities in that campaign. But, we were just unfortunate not to go through. The same thing happened to us last year (the 2016 Afcon edition). We finished fourth again. If a tournament could be won by a team which created most scoring chances, I truly believe that we could have been that team. “We just need to sort out our attack because defensively, we are organised. We can easily shift from 3-5-2 to 4-2-3-1 and 4-1-3-2 at any given provided the offensive impetus for the Western Cape club – and they’ll be keen on maintaining their superb form in the playoffs.

Up front, Stellenbosch boast a deadly attacker in the powerful, bustling 33-year-old Senegalese, moment during a match. Our defence is too solid. We just need to solve this problem we have in the final third and we’ll be fine.” To help solve that problem, the Banyana legend has called seven new players into camp to train with her senior side, where she’ll be monitoring their progress for the remainder of this week. Ellis stated that she was impressed with the type of talent she has brought in so far, and will have more options to consider when it comes to national callups in the near future. The players that the Banyana coach has called for assessments are: Koketso Tlailane (TUT-PTA), Nkoikoi Mabina (Kanatla Ladies), Kholosa Biyana (UKZN), Lucinda Croy (Santos FC), Thato Lesoso (UJ) , Zanele Nhlapo (Mamelodi Sundowns) and Philisa Mjambane (Red Roses) “We really need to find strikers who can score for us,” Ellis said. “Unfortunately you cannot bring in a lot of them because there has to be a balance within the team. But these are the players we’ve been monitoring for the past year or so. It was extremely difficult to bring them in then because we had a very busy programme to deal with. “The intention of blending them with the senior guys is that want them to realise that playing for the national team is not easy. “We also want them to realise that they are going to work a whole lot harder, if they are to make the cut in the near future again.” – Mame Niang. Much-travelled and highly-experienced, Niang has been a vital cog in Stellenbosch’s progress – and there’s no doubt the striker will be a handful for the defences of Baroka and Leopards to deal with.

In short, therefore, Stellenbosch have the team to achieve their objective – it’s now just about the implementation, the commitment, the determination and, above all, the desire.