Stellenbosch FC coach Steve Barker says their defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns was a “good lesson” and a learning curve for his players.

The Maroons crashed out of the Nedbank Cup following their 2-1 semi-final defeat to Sundowns at the Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch.

The win saw Sundowns advance to the final where they will take on defending champions Orlando Pirates at the Mbombela Stadium on June 1.

Barker was proud of his teams efforts despite their 25 match unbeaten run coming to an end.

“I thought we hung in the game there 2-1, I think maybe if we had scored ten minutes earlier maybe we could have got the second but ja a lot of lessons learnt,” Barker told SuperSport TV after the game.

“They scored their first goal when we had a player down injured, obviously they attacked on the right hand side Mudau with a goal and the ja, 2-0 down I thought it could be a difficult afternoon especially when they got a penalty.

“But ja, penalty missed, we score a little bit just after that and we were a little but unlucky to force something but I thought we played well especially second-half. I thought we got ourselves back in the game, we didn’t allow them all the time and space to have in the first half.

“We were a little bit confident, use the ball better. Look to turn and get behind them which we did a couple of times. Congratulations to them, they go to another cup final, it’s a second semi-final in two seasons we fall out, so it’s all good lessons we’re learning, I think it’s preparing us well for the future.”

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