Barker opens up on Stellenbosch’s struggles against Chiefs lately 

Stellenbosch FC coach Steve Barker has offered his thoughts on the team's losing run against Kaizer Chiefs after another defeat this past weekend. 

In a challenging start to their 2025/26 season, Stellenbosch was beaten 2-0 by the Amakhosi at a packed Athlone Stadium, a fourth defeat in a row against Chiefs.

The match was made even more difficult when their centre-back Siviwe Nkwali was shown a red card early in the first half.

After the game, Barker reflected on the recent trend of being on the “wrong end” of results against Chiefs. Despite the current losing streak, he was quick to remind everyone that it has not always been this way. 

Barker said that Stellenbosch has had their “fair share” of success against the Glamour Boys in previous meetings, showing that there is a history of competition between the two sides. This perspective offers a sense of hope for Stellenbosch fans, suggesting that their fortunes could change in the future.

‘IT’S SO UNFORTUNATE’ – BARKER ON STELLIES STRUGGLES AGAINST CHIEFS

“It hasn’t always been the case, we got our fair share results in the past,” said Barker after the match.

“But yeah, of late it just seems they’re a team that has a one over us right now. So, yeah it’s unfortunate.

“Next time when we play them, we obviously have to really find a way to get ourselves a win against them.”

Meanwhile, on getting the red card and conceding early in the match, Barker said, “It always feels like a double blow when you get a red card and a goal against you at the same time,” added Barker.

“So, sometimes it’s not worth the red card because you rather be 1-0 down [but have the whole team], your chance of getting a point is probably higher than they're not scoring and you're ten men down and it's 0-0 then, probably their advantage is that they [can] still get the result at the end of the day.

“So, it was just a big blow for us and it's not the first time against Chiefs that there's been a red card or an incident that led to them winning the game.

“So, yeah it's not through lack of effort or trying to beat them, it just seems like our lack against them is just not where it should be right now, but we need to be better in certain situations.”