Stellebosch FC hoping FIFA break can boost Confederation Cup start

The Cape Winelands side have found the going tough in the Betway Premiership this season, having won only two of their 12 matches played so far. 

Stellies have been a shadow of the team that finished third in the league and reached the Confed Cup semifinals last season, and Barker says the excessive travelling has contributed to their struggles.

"The international break came at a really good time for us, we had played a lot of games in a short space of time, including a lot of travel," said Barker.

"So it was good for us to just refresh and regenerate the players, but also an opportunity to get on the training ground and work at improving and fixing some areas that needed to be looked at – both with and without the ball."

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Barker has been satisfied with the work they have done in training over the last two weeks, including a friendly match against Cape Town City, as they now turn their attention to hosting Congo Republic side AS Otoho d’Oyo in Polokwane on Sunday. 

"A lot of hard work on the training ground has been very productive and very effective, and to also keep [match] sharp, we played a friendly against Cape Town City," he revealed.

"And obviously just conducting good, intense sessions to keep the players at a good level in preparing for our CAF game against AS Otoho."

Stellies will host Otoho at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Sunday afternoon, after venues in the Western Cape were all unavailable for various reasons this this weekend.