Given the longer-than-usual – three months – pre-season due to the drama and controversy in the ABC Motsepe League – a draw away from home against a quality side like FN Rangers is in retrospect, not such a bad result at all.
This is exactly the sentiment of Seaside Spurs’ head coach Gerald Stober (pictured) and why the former Bafana Bafana player is more than satisfied with his 1-1 draw against Arreshaat ‘Saatjie’ Daniels’ Rangers at the Royal Road Sports Complex in Maitland over the weekend.
“Look, we all have our opinions as we see things differently,” Stober stated to No Bones with Jones. “You know I’m not about results, even though it is a measure of where we are going, and it counts in terms of success. But I think the big takeaway for me was obviously the extra preseason and game time we had, it gave me time to work on a couple of things that you wouldn’t have because you probably would not have had the time.
“So, I think overall we did well. Obviously, the conditions weren’t really conducive to good football. The wind was terrible, you know. But it’s always nice to play against them… I mean, Saatjie is a very good friend of mine.
“But sometimes when you come against your friend, then you respect them because we know what we are doing in football, and maybe a draw is a good result, and we can still say: Hey guys, we’re still friends if you look at it from that point of view,” Stober jokingly stated.
“But I’m thrilled that our guys pitched up, you know. We came there for a good battle, and the guys did extremely well. They worked hard, they challenged everything and fought until the last minute.
“So, yeah. All in all, we take the point. If you had offered me the point before the match, I would have taken it, you know, it’s Rangers (at home). So, I’m just glad the season got underway,” Stober added.
Stober, now in his second season with Spurs, is looking to build on his debut campaign of last season, whereby he achieved his objective of ensuring the coastal side retained its Motsepe League status.
The former Hellenic and Santos striker is well aware that expectations will be that he should improve this time round.
The Spurs mentor pointed out what he thinks will be needed from his troops to make more inroads in the campaign.
“It is about consistency,” Stober explained. “Being able to pitch every weekend and go into battle. We need to be prepared, and we can’t go half-heartedly into this. So, yeah! We can’t control results, but we can control how we perform,” Stober concluded.
PHOTO SUPPLIED BY FOOTBALL CULTURE
