Stellenbosch FC coach Steve Barker has hailed goalkeeper Sage Stephens’ brilliant save in the first leg as “the turning point” that led to his team achieving a historic first-ever berth in the CAF Confederations Cup semi-finals.
Stephens kept clean sheets both home and away against Egyptian giants Zamalek, with Sihle Nduli’s 79th-minute winner in Cairo on Wednesday night separating the two sides in a 1-0 aggregate triumph in the quarter-finals.
But Barker believes Stephens’ point-blank save in the dying stages in Cape Town last week allowed Stellenbosch to approach the second leg with confidence.
“I think it was very important for us not to concede an away goal. I think you all know, in our home game, Zamalek had a really big chance in the 86th minute,” Barker said after the 1-0 victory.
“We made a really big save, and I think that was a turning point. Had they scored there, and it would have made our trip coming here very difficult.
“So, knowing that we hadn’t conceded an away goal, it was just a message to the players that we have to show hunger, we have to show desire, we have to work hard.
“And you don’t come to a place like this stadium, against a team like this, who are defending champions, and win without effort.
“We knew that we would have to sacrifice, and credit must go to the players for the work that they put in and sticking to the game-plan.”
Nduuuuuuli 😍 pic.twitter.com/rsc3niZgD1
— Stellenbosch FC (@StellenboschFC) April 9, 2025
Stellies were certainly not overawed by the occasion of fronting up to the five-time CAF Champions League winners on their home patch, and showed refreshing attacking intent from the outset.
The visitors grew in confidence the longer the match stayed goalless, with Barker turning up the tempo even more after halftime with the introduction of substitutes Chumani Butsaka and Nku.
The arrival of Sanele Barns and Khomotjo Lekoloane on the hour mark turned up the heat even more on the Egyptians.
“I think maybe we gave Zamalek too much respect in the first game. Obviously, playing against the reigning defending champions, a team with a massive history, at home, maybe we just gave too much respect,” Barker said.
“But after the game, I said to our team and I think our players realised that, you know what, it’s not impossible to get to the semi-final.
“We felt that we played well enough, and we could see there were certain deficiencies in the Zamalek team.
“We came here with a little bit more bravery and a little bit more courage to just take the game to Zamalek, as opposed to just sitting back and hoping for a draw and penalties.
Good morning semi-finalists 🤩 pic.twitter.com/wl92CD3giy
“We knew that if we scored one goal, it would give us a big chance to qualify. I think we made substitutes at halftime, and then the substitutes that came in about the 61st minute.
“We knew that we can bring on technical players that can pass and move, and pass and move. We knew Zamalek may start tiring, and I think it worked well.”
Zamalek were dealt a heavy blow before the start of the quarter-final when star playmaker Zizo was left out of the match-day squad due to speculation that the Egyptian international had signed a contract with local rivals Al Ahly.
Barker did not want Zizo’s absence to detract from his team’s achievement in reaching the last four, though.
“We weren’t sure whether Zizo would be playing or not because there was a lot of media,” he said.
“I think he’s a good player, so it was obviously a bit to our advantage that he wasn’t playing. But there are many other good players in the team.
“I thought maybe they played a lot in front of us and not really getting in behind us, which was not thought that they would do that.
“But I thought they controlled the game well in the first 45 minutes especially.
“But they didn’t create really big chances, so we were quite comfortable in just defending and hoping that we can get a goal like we did.”
Stellenbosch now gear up for the semi-finals against Simba FC of Tanzania, with the first leg an away fixture on April 20 in Dar es Salaam, and the return game in Cape Town on April 27.