It will be a ware turf war at the Danie Craven Stadium on Friday night when Stellenbosch locals defend their soil against Cape Town City’s foreign legion in their PSL derby on Friday at 7.30pm.
And Stellies coach Steve Barker is hoping his manskappe can prove that local is lekker against Eric Tinkler and his buitelandse attack.
Second-last on the PSL log and desperate for a first win in 10 games, Barker believes his young homegrown talents can lift their level with more than just bragging rights at stake.
🔴![CDATA[]]>🔴 DERBY DAY 🔵![CDATA[]]>🔵
— Cape Town City FC (@CapeTownCityFC) January 27, 2023
Let’s do this together! 🔵
🆚 Stellenbosch FC
🏆 #DStvPrem
🗓 Friday 27 January
🕢 19h30
📺 SuperSport 2
🏟 Danie Craven Stadium pic.twitter.com/wK0rkQdX66
Last week, Kayamandi-born Mervin Boji scored his first senior goal for the club in a 4-1 defeat at Orlando Pirates, while captain Deano van Rooyen will lead starlets like Oshwin Andries, Jayden
Adams, Devin Titus and Antonio van Wyk.
They will face a City attack which features South American duo Darwin Gonzalez and Juan Zapata and Cameroonian Bertrand Mani, who have helped fire the Citizens up to seven on the log with three wins in five games since the World Cup restart.
Barker says of the turf war: “There are a number of players here who grew up in Stellenbosch.
“We have a couple of young players Deano van Rooyen, Mervin Boji, Oshwin Andries and Jayden Adams to name just a few from this area.
“But there are also those who grew up more on the Cape Town side like Devin Titus and Antonio van Wyk.
“I’m sure it’s something that they are looking forward to, they are Capetonians and it is against Capetonians and one always wants to claim bragging rights in these types of matches.”
City captain Thami Mkhize, however, reckons his foreign teammates are only getting fired up, with January arrivals Zapata and Mani already off the mark.
He warns: “They have become an integral part of the team very quickly, we will definitely look to them to make the magic happen upfront in the derby.”
WEEKEND’S PSL FIXTURES
Saturday: Sundowns v Sekhukhune (3.30pm), Swallows v SuperSport (5.30pm), Marumo Gallants v Pirates (8pm).
Sunday: Richards Bay v AmaZulu, Chippa v Maritzburg (both 3.30pm), Chiefs v Royal AM, TS Galaxy v Arrows (both 5.30pm).
dailyvoice@inl.co.za