Football: Airtel Cup Semifinal Leg 1 Anse Reunion welcome Northern Dynamo today |06 September 2017

The 2017 Airtel Cup final is edging closer and tonight the second semifinal will take place on La Digue where Anse Reunion will host Northern Dynamo in the first leg.

Neither side were seen as favourites to get to this stage at the start of the season, now they will fight for a place in the final, in what is expected to be a very tight contest.

Northern Dynamo have been performing very well this season, sitting fourth on the league table, while the Anse Reunion team can cause problems to any opponents on their day, especially when they play on home turf.

Speaking to Sports NATION, Northern Dynamo coach Cliff Nolin said: “Anse Reunion are a good team and they can win against any side and so we must be well prepared.”

He explained that his side will need to work hard tactically in order to get a result as they want to bring back a positive result for the return leg on Saturday at Stad Linite.

“Last season we made it all the way to the Intelvision Cup final and this year we have the chance to get to another final and so we must be focused and give our best in order to achieve that,” coach Nolin added.

Northern Dynamo actually had a fairly easy passage to the semifinal as they eliminated Revengers in the previous round. The first leg match on Praslin ended 5-1 in Northern Dynamo’s favour and the Praslin side forfeited the return game, meaning Northern Dynamo went through.

Anse Reunion, meanwhile, have not been having the best season and will hope that reaching the final of the final of this tournament will boost confidence among their young squad as they push on towards the end of the season.

“Reaching the final will be an achievement for us as we have struggled a lot financially and although I feel we could have done better in the league, reaching the Airtel Cup final could be a huge confidence booster for our young players,” said Anse Reunion coach Ted Esther.

Playing at home in the first leg can be tough and coach Esther has revealed that his side will need to be at their best against a Northern Dynamo side who have a lot of players who can cause problems.

“We want to be very offensive in this game as we want to carry at least a two-goal advantage into the return leg match,” added Coach Esther.

While Northern Dynamo have a full squad to choose from for this afternoon’s contest, Anse Reunion will be without the suspended Don Fanchette, but he will be available for the second leg.

The match will be played at the La Digue sports complex and will kick off at 3pm.