Stellies’ priority will be survival

Promoted Cape side eager to mix it up against Chiefs, Pirates and Sundowns

SURVIVAL will be Stellenbosch FC’s first goal when they debut in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) in the 2019-2020 season.

The side won automatic promotion to the top flight domestic league after winning the National First Division (NFD) title on Sunday.

It was the first piece of silverware for the club and the players whose work ethic and hard work was praised by head coach Steve Barker.

“To stay top of the log for 23 weeks with a squad of 25 in a very tough and uncompromising league takes some doing. The players captained by our talisman Jarrod Moroole (160 NFD appearances club’s most capped player) gave it their all every day on and off the field and were rewarded with the title and promotion to the elite league of South African football,” said Barker. “They bought into what the club and I had set out to do … and I’m just proud of them all for sticking to the script.

“My support staff did a great job too as well as the people behind the scenes. We’ve got a great infrastructure and the resources to go on and become a force to be reckoned with. Yes, the step up in class will be a huge challenge but not insurmountable as long as we do our homework before our first game in the PSL.”

Stellies’ rise from the second tier was achieved ahead of schedule.

Three seasons ago under then head coach Sammy Troughton (Barker joined the club as his assistant) resulted in a top-three finish and qualification to the promotion-relegation play-offs, without success. Season two with Barker at the helm produced a fast start and another top-three placing seemed on the cards, before a dip resulted in a mid-table finish.

This season Barker’s boys made a slow start before finding their stride and dominating the league for close on six months. A minor scare at the back-end of their campaign saw Royal Eagles replace them at the top, but they were back on top shortly after and the rest was history.

Now comes the club’s biggest challenge.

“I took the University of Pretoria from the NFD into the PSL and got to experience what was required at the highest level… those experiences will stand me in good stead. It was a technical superior jump for the boys and we are going to have to beef up our squad factoring in our obligation to field a team in the Multichoice Diski Challenge,” he said.

“But we will not turn our back on the players who got us into the position we are. After all we are about promoting young talent from the Winelands region, and we have that in abundance.

“A player like our striker Iqraam Rayners scored 30 goals in two seasons and is headed for higher honours. He’s going to be massive for us when we come face to face with the big boys of the league like Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns to mention a few and not forgetting Cape Town City, our newest derby rivals.

“It is a coup for Cape football having two teams in the league and can only boost the game in the Western Cape.”