Steve Barker has issued his verdict on the performances of Ashley Du Preez and Sibongiseni Mthethwa as Stellenbosch FC defeated Kaizer Chiefs on Tuesday.
The Western Cape-based outfit extended their impressive unbeaten run to 19 matches across all competitions with a 1-0 win over Amakhosi at FNB Stadium courtesy of a Devin Titus winner.
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On the night, Barker also went toe-to-toe with three of his former players in Zitha Kwinika, Ashley Du Preez and Sibongiseni Mthethwa, who became the latest to make the switch from the Winelands to Soweto.
Speaking to media after the match, the modest tactician admitted that his former players were some cause for concern.
"Yeah, Ashley, we know his capabilities and his pace, he's dangerous," Barker said.
"I must say I was a bit more worried in the second half with the formation they had, with him down the middle. I thought that's when they looked at their most dangerous.
"We obviously know that they do attack the space behind and they're really good on transition and so, from a tactical point of view, it was getting the balance right off if there's no pressure on the ball to defend the space and then let them have the ball in front.
"The last thing we wanted to be caught was sort of highline and the ball played in-behind and then obviously they have good players in the pockets in terms of [Mduduzi] Shabalala and [Pule] Mmodi coming inside and so we were aware of that. They are a difficult team to defend against because they can do both.
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"But definitely, we're mindful of players like Ashley and obviously, we know Mthethwa really well.
"I think you could see it, as the game went longer he became more influential, getting on the ball more. He just got stronger as the game went on, so you know that that could have also been dangerous for us."
Stellies will be aiming to make it 20 matches unbeaten when they host Sekhukhune United at Danie Craven on Saturday.
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