Hunt wary of new manager bounce against Sekhukhune United
Stellenbosch FC coach Gavin Hunt is expecting Sekhukhune United to be a dangerous adversary on Friday evening despite their recent The post Hunt wary of new manager bounce against Sekhukhune United first appeared on Africa Top Sports.
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Stellenbosch FC coach Gavin Hunt is expecting Sekhukhune United to be a dangerous adversary on Friday evening despite their recent managerial changes.
Stellenbosch will host Sekhukhune United for a Betway Premiership encounter at Athlone Stadium on Friday, where the team from the Winelands will be looking to bounce back from a narrow 2-1 defeat to Richards Bay in their last league outing.
“We didn’t have a good result in our last game away to Richards Bay, although it wasn’t a bad performance, but we didn’t get any points, and that was frustrating. We need to bounce back from that, especially as we’re at our home away from home at Athlone Stadium.” Hunt said.
The Stellies tactician remains aggrieved by some of the decisions made by match officials during that encounter, but saw enough from his side’s performance to believe they can bounce back with a win in Cape Town.
“You always think you can bounce back,” he added. “We were away from home, and had a good few chances, and a bad decision against us that affected the game, but that’s part and parcel of football, and we’ve got to move on. Hopefully, it will even itself out over the course of the season.”
Friday’s fixture will be Babina Noko’s first match since reportedly parting ways with former head coach Eric Tinkler earlier this week, and the so-called “new manager bounce” is something that Hunt and his team will be wary of heading into the match.
“Sekhukhune United have just changed their coach, and that’s always dangerous,” he said. “When you play against a team that has just changed their coach, what’s their reaction and the reactions of the players going to be like? We’re going to have to be up for it.
“They are a very experienced side and have a lot of options, so it certainly won’t be easy. They’re obviously looking at their own course, and we’ll be looking at what we’re trying to do…
“It changes things for them, because they will most probably have people who haven’t played and were unhappy, who will now be happy, and people who were playing [who will now be unhappy]. There will always be a reaction, though.
“If you study it, when coaches leave, there will always be an upturn for around five games, and then things go back to normal again, and that happens all around the world on average.
“You never know, but it will certainly be a new energy and vibe, even though there are still a lot of the same coaching staff, but we’ve got to be careful. We played Magesi after they changed their coach, and they were unbelievable, but now they are back to normal again, and that’s what happens.”
The Betway Premiership fixture between Stellenbosch FC and Sekhukhune United is scheduled to kick off at 19h30 on Friday, 17 April 2026 at Athlone Stadium. Tickets are on sale for R40 from Webtickets, and the match will be broadcast live on SuperSport PSL 202.
The post Hunt wary of new manager bounce against Sekhukhune United first appeared on Africa Top Sports.
