Steve Barker Explains Why Kaizer Chiefs Defeated Stellenbosch in League Opener

• Steve Barker has broken his silence, unveiling the reason Stellenbosch FC were defeated by Kaizer Chiefs in the absence of their head coach, Nasreddine Nabi
• It was Stellies' third consecutive league defeat against the Glamour Boys after losing all their fixtures against them last season
• The South African mentor also shared what he told his players before the match kicked off and how the red card affected his team

Stellenbosch FC continue their winless run against Kaizer Chiefs as they suffered yet another defeat against the Glamour Boys in the Betway Premiership.

Stellies were defeated 2-0 by the Glamour Boys at the Athlone Stadium on Sunday evening with goals from Nkosingiphile Ngcobo and Glody Lilepo.

Kaizer Chiefs won back-to-back games against the Maroons last season in the league, and made it three wins in a row against Stellies in their last three matches in the Betway Premiership.

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Amakhosi were without their head coach, Nasreddine Nabi, who had travelled to Tunisia to attend to a family emergency, but that didn't stop them from securing all three points against Barker's side.

Barker reflects on why Stellies lost to Kaizer Chiefs

Barker, in an interview after the match, explained why his team suffered yet another loss to the Soweto giants.

He also opened up about warning his players about being sent off and committing a foul in the box, which could lead to a penalty.

"We spoke to the players before the game and warned them that red cards and penalties can really hurt us, and unfortunately, we gave away both tonight," Barker told SuperSport after the match.

"That said, I thought our response after the red card was very good. For the rest of the first half, we were actually the better team.

"We were a bit unlucky, hit the crossbar, the post, and their keeper made some good saves. That was our chance to get back into the game, and if we had taken it, the second half might have played out differently.

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"But in the second half, they managed the game a lot better. We just didn’t have the legs or numbers to maintain the pressure we applied in the last 30 minutes of the first half.

"I was hoping we could hang in there and maybe create a half-chance from a set piece to salvage something. But in trying to push, we left ourselves open, and that led to their second goal and the penalty."

The South African tactician also admitted that playing most of the match with a man down made things difficult for Stellies against the Glamour Boys.

"Being a man down for so long really made things difficult for us tonight," he added.

Kaizer Chiefs stand-in coach reacts to win over Stellies

Briefly News earlier reported that Kaizer Chiefs stand-in coach in Nasreddine Nabi's absence has shared his thoughts on Amakhosi's win over Stellenbosch FC in their league opener.

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The Soweto giants' assistant coach also dedicated the win to the Kaizer Chiefs family and his boss.

Proofreading by Roxanne Dos Ramos, copy editor at Briefly.co.za.

Source: Briefly News