Gavin Hunt says Stellies must avoid defeat in Congo to keep CAF hopes alive

Stellenbosch coach Gavin Hunt understands that they cannot afford to lose away to Otoho d’Oyo in their penultimate CAF Confederation Cup group-stage match as that would all but bring their continental campaign to an end.

Stellies will face d’Oyo at Stade Alphonse Massemba-Débat in Brazzaville, Congo, on Sunday afternoon (3pm kick-off) under immense pressure to get a result as they are currently bottom of the standings in Group C with four points, five behind log leaders CR Belouizdad.

As such, a loss to d’Oyo would mean they could only finish the campaign with seven points, even if they beat Singida Black Stars in their final group-stage match at home – a tally that would not be enough to guarantee a top-two finish as Belouizdad and d’Oyo would progress to the next round.

Hunt knows they will need to dig deep to salvage their campaign in Oyo, especially given the unfamiliar pitch and weather conditions that await them.

“They scheduled the game in the middle of the day on an astroturf, so you can imagine,” Hunt said after the loss to Chiefs. “I spoke to (Sead) Ramovic, the Belouizdad coach, and he said they got beaten there 4-1, and we lost to them 3-0.

“He said: ‘Look, it’s hot there because, obviously, it’s the equator.’ But everyone who’s played on astroturf will know that it’s a different game.

“So we’ll go there and arrive sometime on Friday, prepare on Saturday, and play on Sunday. We need at least a point there. We can’t come away with nothing, because if we lose, we’re out. We need something there, and then we can try to win next week to give ourselves a chance.”

While Stellies head into the clash on the back of a 2-1 win over Kaizer Chiefs in the Nedbank Cup last-32 at home on Wednesday night, Hunt believes that result will count for little, insisting they must create their own fortunes.

“We’ll approach the game the best way we know how,” Hunt said during his pre-match press conference in Brazzaville on Saturday. “We’ve got two games left, and I think four points will get us through.

“So tomorrow, we are not being negative. We must create chances if we can and take it from there. It won’t be easy because the conditions are different from what we are used to.”

Stellies have undergone a transformation in recent weeks, with coach Steve Barker and players such as Andre de Jong and Thato Khiba, who started the season with the team, leaving the club for greener pastures.

Hunt is not dwelling on the departures, insisting that the players they’ve brought in – including Tshegofatso Mabasa, Mosa Lebusa, Wayde Jooste, Asakhe Tiwani, and Kobamelo Kodisan – have enough quality to help the team move forward.

“That’s football, and we obviously can’t do anything about that,” Hunt said. “We had to strengthen the team, and we have strengthened the team. They are new players to the club; they’ve only been here for a week. But we had to do it, and it was the right thing to do. It happens all over the world.”

A loss for Stellies against d’Oyo would be crushing, especially given the strides the team made by reaching the semi-finals of the competition last season at the first attempt. That is why Hunt and his troops are expected to be at their best and take the race for a top-two finish down to the wire.