Stellenbosch head coach Steve Barker has explained how they managed to become the first side to beat Mamelodi Sundowns under Rulani Mokwena in the Nedbank Cup quarterfinals.
Stellies ended Sundowns' 26-game unbeaten run since Mokwena took over after a stunning 2-1 win over the weekend courtesy of a brace by Iqraam Rayners.
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Barker says they knew what to expect from the Tshwane giants and their win over the weekend reminds him of the 3-0 thrashing over them last season.
"We know, I think there's not a lot of teams in South Africa that can have more than 50 percent of possession against Sundowns, they're a ball-oriented possession team," Barker said on Marawa Sports Worldwide.
"Tactically, they play with inverted full-backs, they try to overload the midfield areas and play short passes to unluck you and suck you into situations where they can break lines and the pitch opens up for them.
"So we knew they would do that but we also knew our best chances to beat a team like Sundowns is on transitional moments, such as the match we beat them 3-0 last season," he said.
The experienced tactician went on and revealed that the pace of Iqraam Rayners and Devon Titus was key to their game plan, in conjunction with their pressing.
Barker says they knew Sundowns would lose their shape in transitional moments and they had to press them at the right moments, especially with the pace of Rayners and Devon Titus.
"And again with a player like Iqraam Rayners in our team and Devon Titus with the speed that they have...it was always going to be a solid defensive display that we had to do," he continued.
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"And we know we'll get our moments where they do lose their shape, when they lose the ball there are spaces to exploit and fortunately it worked in our favour.
"But I also felt we pressed at the right time, if you over press and commit too early, they play through you, so I just felt we got that right, especially second-half where we pressed them at the right moments," he said.
"And I think some of that pressure led to some of the errors that led to our two goals. Again sometimes your game plan doesn't always come together but (this time) it did," he added.
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