Steve Barker praises Polokwane City ahead of Nedbank Cup tie

Rise and Shine have carried their impressive momentum from last season into the current campaign, with coach Phuti Mohafe leading them to third in the Betway Premiership after 17 matches at present, while a trophy would just top it all off.

In his assessment of City, the experienced Barker describes them as ‘effective.’ 

"I think what Polokwane have done this year is be effective at what they do, especially with a player like [Oswin] Appollis, who's a bit of their talisman and sort of plays in the type of position that he cheats a little bit, which makes his dangerous on transition," said Barker.

"They've also got a solid defence, and I think they had a bit of a setback with [Thabang] Matuludi, but two seasoned centre-backs and [Ndamulelo] Maphangule in the midfield, and some wingers that have ability.

"So they just seem to be a tight-knit team, working hard for each other, and just taking opportunities when it has been presented to them and being quite difficult to break down. 

"We have played them in the league this season already – a 1-1 game in which we took the lead, and they got a deflected set-piece goal, so they are having a good season, but it's up to us and our ambitions to ensure we get past them and into the quarter-finals."

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