Steve Barker gears up for high stakes final day derby

Stellies will have to dig deep one more time in the closing weekend of the season, when they take on Cape Town City in a game of high consequence.

Ordinarily a derby game is emotionally charged with bragging rights on the line, but this one could also be the difference between relegation and safety for one team, and a chance to play continental football for the other.

“Overall massive win for us to keep ourselves in contention to achieve what we want to achieve, and that’s finish in the top three. So no rest for any of us, one more big game next week against Cape Town City. Really a derby with a bit of spice, a big game for both clubs. So [it’s] important for us to just get over this and have one more big final left in us for the season," remarked Barker.

The former AmaZulu coach also said his team will be in no mood for charity at the Cape Town Stadium, and their opponents will have to earn the three points to give themselves any chance of avoiding the promotion/relegation play-offs.

“I think it’s going be a really tense game. We want to finish third and they want to beat relegation. So hopefully we have a lot of fans that can come out and be there, and witness what I think is going be an interesting game from both sides," he said.

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Barker’s team is one point ahead of Sekhukhune United with one match to play, and all they need is to win their game and be guaranteed a return to the CAF Confederation Cup for a second season in a row.

They had an impressive debut in the competition, going all the way to the semi-finals.

On the opposite end of the pendulum, Cape Town City has had a campaign to forget in 2024/25.

They had two coaching changes, and found wins few and far between.

They have to win that game, and hope SuperSport lose their remaining two matches, including the one against Golden Arrows which was halted at halt-time due to loadshedding at Lucas Moripe Stadium in February.