While Mamelodi Sundowns continue to dominate South African football, it can be said that many fans have looked to clubs such as Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and SuperSport United to stop the yellow train.
However, Stellenbosch have quietly gone about their business this season and are slowly beginning to look more and more like a challenging team in the PSL.
Consistent results
Stellenbosch stretched their unbeaten run in all competitions to 23 games following their 2-1 win against TS Galaxy in the DStv Premiership last week. Also, since losing a league match against Sundowns last September, Stellenbosch recorded 17 victories in 25 games across the board, while suffering only two defeats during this period.
This clearly indicates that Stellenbosch are able to go on sustained unbeaten streaks, a hallmark of a team challenging for top honours such as the DStv Premiership.
The Cape Winelands outfit came a long way since their 14 th placed finish in the league during the 2020/21 season, where Steve Barker and company avoided the PSL Relegation play-offs by two points.
After a 4 th and 6 th place finish in the league in the last two seasons, Stellenbosch are now poised for a runners-up spot in the 2023/24 campaign. This can only be considered as a natural progression as a result of sticking to the process.
Cup success
In December last year, Stellies tasted silverware in top flight football for the first time after being crowned inaugural Carling Knockout champions following a penalty shootout win over TS Galaxy at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.
Three months prior to lifting their first trophy, Stellenbosch faced Orlando Pirates in the semi-finals of the MTN8 tournament. However, Barker and his charges suffered a 2-2 aggregate at the end of two exciting legs, with the Soweto giants booking their spot in the final via the away goals rule.
Now though, Stellenbosch will once again have a shot at silverware this season when they take on Sundowns in the Nedbank Cup semi-finals next month.
To add to their consistency in the league, Stellenbosch have also posed regular threats to major cup competitions in South African football.
Stability with Barker
With continuity on their side, Stellenbosch are now a well-oiled machine in their own right. Barker has also identified the likes of Iqraam Rayners, Devin Titus, Antonio van Wyk and Jayden Adams as his core group of players.
The biggest challenge in this regard would be holding onto the above mentioned players, who have now become some of the most sought-after young talents in the PSL.
In conclusion, it has become hard to ignore the Stellenbosch-outfits progress this past season. With silverware in the bag and potential runners-up spot available in the league, Barker and his troops have now laid a solid foundation to go one step further in the coming seasons.
