Stave Barker believes his Stellenbosch FC team are on the up

Steve Barker expects Golden Arrows to be tough customers this evening in their Betway Premiership clash at Athlone Stadium but he is also confident his side are up for the challenge.

“This is a new game and a new challenge, though,” Barker told his club website.

“They’ve made a decent start to the season, and they’ve got some good players in their team, so like any Premiership match, this won’t be easy.”

Arrows have, indeed, become a strong team under incumbent Manqoba Mnqithi, who always manages to get the best out of the Durban side.

The Durban side are ninth on the PSL standings with 13 points while Barker's men find themselves second from bottom with six points.

Arrows’ are aware Stellies just landed in the Mother City following their 0-0 draw against 15 de Agosto de Akonibe in Equatorial Guinea in a Caf Confederation Cup qualifying game.

“It has been a tough start to the season, but I believe there are definite signs that we are on an upward curve,” Barker said.

“We have not been conceding many goals of late, but we need to score more than we have been, so a lot of hard work has been going into that to rectify that.

“We’ve got to remain positive and ensure that we get a positive result against Golden Arrows to help turn things around, and preparations have been going well to that end."

The match starts at 7.30pm.