Stellenbosch FC head coach Steve Barker has taken pride in their CAF Confederation Cup journey despite losing out on a spot in the final.
The Cape Winelands outfit could unfortunately not overturn the 1-0 first leg deficit as the second leg tie against Tanzania’s Simba SC at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Sunday afternoon ended 0-0 in regulation and added time.
Barker took time out in his post-match interview to congratulate his South African counterpart Fadlu Davids on the opposition bench and also heaped huge credit to his players who he believes gave it their all on the afternoon.
“Yeah, look it’s obviously a tough one to take. I haven’t seen the replays [VAR],” Barker said on SABC Sport.
“I’ve always wanted VAR to be brought in our own league and unfortunately it’s gone a little bit against us, mainly last week, but you know congratulations to Simba first thing. I wish Fadlu, Darren and all the South African contingent that are with Simba the best for the final.
“We’ve tried everything in our capability to try to get a goal, to try and at least take it to penalties.
“I can’t fault the effort; I can’t fault the commitment. Obviously, the better team created the better chances. We were on the front foot.
“But yeah, just struggled to find a way to get a goal.
“I can’t fault the effort. We’ve played some really big teams on the African continent whether it be Simba, Zamalek, Berkane. I think that we’ve shown that we can hold our own.
“I trust that we’ve made South Africa proud with our efforts to reach this far in our first season ever in the Confed.
“So, our journey ends, but I think and believe it’s a start of many other journeys.”
