Stellenbosch FC head coach Steve Barker says having used the Moses Mabhida stadium recently has given his side an element of confidence ahead of the MTN8 final against Orlando Pirates.
Stellies won the Carling Knockout Cup at the 2010 FIFA World Cup venue last year and have also used the stadium as a home ground for their CAF Confederation Cup preliminary round fixtures, with Barker admitting that the stadium has been special to play at though he notes it has also been a happy hunting ground for the Buccaneers.
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“I think we’ve played more at Moses [Mabhida] than Danie Craven this season so yeah, it has become a nice place to go,” Barker said at an MTN8 press conference.
“Obviously, the comfortability of being in a final at Moses last season, you know the league win over AmaZulu at Moses and then obviously this season, we’ve played both Hotspurs [Nsingizini] games at Moses, as well as [Mamelodi] Sundowns and you know we had good success in all of them.
“So, it does feel like a special place to go. It’s been rewarding for us, Moses. You know the hotel we stay in is very comfortable. We are comfortable with the surroundings of the field. But at the same time, we also know that Pirates, it’s not a bad place for them either. They have the majority of the supporters as one would expect.
“But yes, having played there recently having had good success there recently does give us that element of sort of confidence going into that game.”
The highly anticipated final will kick off at 18:00 later this afternoon.