Stellies focus on Bucs cup final after Polokwane draw

After their 1-1 draw with Polokwane City in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) match at Old Peter Mokaba Stadium on Sunday, Stellenbosch coach Steve Barker doesn’t think his players had one eye in the MTN8 final against Orlando Pirates at Moses Mabhida Stadium.

Stellies let a 1-0 lead slip after Lehlohonolo Mojela scored before Thabang Matuludi equalised on the stroke of halftime.

Barker said they will be highly motivated for the final against the Buccaneers.

“I wouldn’t say so; I think our mentality was to see the game before us and play the match on a different occasion going into the nicest stadium with a full crowd final,” Barker said.

“I'm sure our level of motivation will be high to perform better than we did against Polokwane, but it’s uncomfortable to come here on a Sunday evening and play against this team in these conditions.

“I can’t falter the commitment and I can’t think the players had one eye on [Pirates’ match], I think we tried to win the game by pushing numbers forward and we also exposed ourselves at the back.

“We don’t want to come here and play for a point, we want to win as many games as we can.”

Barker also lauded Mojela after scoring his fourth goal this season in all competitions and hopes he can continue scoring against Pirates on Saturday.

“Bradley [Mojela] has been really good for us. He is getting on the score sheet scoring good goals. It is nice that he is scoring and playing with a lot of confidence. You know he is a handful for any team,” he said.

Meanwhile, Polokwane coach Phuti Mohafe is satisfied with the points they achieved after four matches though he felt they should have done better.

“Where we are now on seven points, it is good for us and we hope we should have at least nine by now but it is OK whatever results we get we accept and as a team, we will grow,” Mohafe said.