Genino Palace is optimistic that Stellenbosch can put a dent in Mamelodi Sundowns’ title ambitions at Loftus Versfeld on Wednesday.
Gavin Hunt has steadied the ship since replacing Steve Barker at the helm in January, losing just one of his opening 10 matches in the Betway Premiership and picking up 19 points in the process.
The Maroons beat top-three hopefuls Sekhukhune United 3-1 on Friday to close within three points of the top eight in ninth position and Palace admits they are oozing confidence ahead of the trip to Pretoria.
Stellies have lost their last five league meetings against the Brazilians, but managed to get the better of them in the 2024 Nedbank Cup quarter-finals and the 2025 MTN 8 semi-finals.
“It was very important for us to get the win against Sekhukhune United last week, especially at this stage of the season,” Palace told the club’s official website.
“We’ve tried our best to get past that 30-point mark, and now that we’ve done that, we can look forward and push for a spot in the top eight.
“That was an important result for us in that regard, and it’s important now that we can keep the momentum going into the last few matches of the season.
“We’re still taking it one game at a time, but the ambition has to be to get into the top eight, and that’s what we’ll be pushing for.
“The mood of the squad is good and Friday’s win has given us confidence heading into the game [against Sundowns]. We’ve just got to go out there, give our best, and try to come away with the points.
“We’ve got positive results against them in the past, and I don’t think it’s impossible for us to do the same this time. If we approach the game in the right way, there’s no reason we can’t get something out of it.”
