Steve Barker beaming after impressive MTN8 first leg victory against Sekhukhune

Enyinnaya Godswill opened the scoring at the Danie Craven Stadium on 23 minutes and Devin Titus gave Stellies the advantage going into the second leg with his goal on 33 minutes.

The Cape Town side may have scored a third goal, but Barker says he was satisfied with the result and credited his players for sticking to the game-plan against a Sekhukhune team that have won their three previous games.

Barker said in the Sowetan: "I thought it was a really good and solid performance. The conditions were not the easiest, but I thought we handled it well, and we had our moments where we were able to play and move the ball around and ask them questions defensively.

"I thought that we stuck to our game plan very well. We got a 2-0 lead, and it was a question of maybe seeing if we can get a third, which would have put us in a strong position."

The head coach added: "But also not to concede an away goal. We were a little bit unlucky in the second half when we hit the crossbar, but we handled them well. I don't think we gave them opportunities, especially in the second half. [I am] very proud of top performances from every single player, and anyone who came on added value to the team."

Stellies are next in action against Orlando Pirates in the Betway Premiership match at the Orlando Stadium on Wednesday.