Stellenbosch FC will look to return to winning ways this evening when they face TS Galaxy in the Premier Soccer League.

On Sunday, Stellies’ title defence in the Carling Knockout Cup was brought to a grinding halt following a 1-0 defeat to Marumo Gallants in the quarter-finals in Bloemfontein. The Maroons can move up to third on the PSL table on Tuesday evening if they manage to beat the Rockets in Cape Town.

The Stellies coach, Steve Barker, told OFM Sport that their cup exit may have been a blessing in disguise.

“Exactly, you know in any league worldwide, the league is the bread-and-butter,” said a disappointed Barker.

“The league position allows you to either compete in CAF or not, it allows you to compete in the top eight or not. It allows you to be seeded in the Carling Knockout Cup or not.

“So that is the main, sort of focus of any sort of situation. We’ve done well and I think this would have been a sixth, had we won, it would have been a sixth semi-final in a row that we would have attained.

“As much as we’re disappointed, you can’t win every game. You can’t make every semi-in I think we can be proud of already the start we’ve had to the season. I think this was our 16th game already, of which we’ve only lost three, including today and the final against the Pirates.

Sage Stephens. Photo: Morgan Piek

“So we’ve got to learn and definitely certain things we weren’t good enough at, but ultimately, it’s about not dwelling and feeling sorry for ourselves. We’ve got a big match on Wednesday, so we have to get back to Cape Town and freshen up one day of training on Tuesday and go with it.”

Wednesday’s game at the Athlone Stadium kicks off at 19:30.

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek mvh