Stellenbosch head coach Steve Barker has revealed what was key in their 1-0 win over Kaizer Chiefs in the DStv Premiership.
Devon Titus broke the deadlock for Stellies late in the first stanza and the Cape Winelands side were able to hold out for the entire second stanza.
The win saw Stellenbosch pull four points clear in second spot on the table.
"I thought first half we played really well, I think we controlled, created most of the better chances, we were able to get behind them a lot, especially on the right hand side with Titus. A lot of box entries and I think we deserved to get the goal and go to the halftime (break with the lead)," Barker told SuperSport TV.
"Second half they applied a lot of pressure on us and I think it was just a situation where we had to defend deeper, dig deep and hopefully on a transition we could then get the second goal and kill it off.
"But it was tough in the second half, they put us on the back foot, we had to defend a lot and we were not able to create many chances in the second-half. But sometimes it is the way it is. You've got the goal just before halftime, obviously a good time to score."
Stellies extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 19 matches and the former University of Pretoria head coach commended his players for leaving everything on the pitch.
"But again I can't fault the effort these players have put in, week in and week out. You can just see they are ready to put everything on the field and leave nothing out there and so congratulations to the club for the magnificent run we're on and I also want to thank the supporters for supporting us the way they do," he continued.
"I think that's massive, back-to-back clean-sheets in this league, three days apart is really massive. You know we've got a lot of good quality attacking players, we seem to be scoring on a regular basis.
"So if we can shut the back door, keep the clean-sheets, then it gives us the belief and the confidence that we can win matches and I think today was a prime example of that. We got our goal and really dug deep not to concede."
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