Football: Division one league - Will St Louis lift the league title tomorrow? |17 November 2017

St Louis could tomorrow be crowned league division one champions for the first time since their last championship win in 1994.

Having already lost the Airtel Cup to Northern Dynamo on a 1-2 score, St Louis have shown they have been the most consistent team this season as they have already booked a spot in the Seychelles Football Federation (SFF) Cup final against Anse Reunion, and are on the verge of lifting the eagerly awaited league title to automatically qualify for the Confederation of African Football (Caf) Champions League.

St Louis, captained by Praslinois Bertrand Esther who will be leading his new side against his former squad LightStars, boast some of the best players around and their early season recruits Gervais Waye-Hive and Carl Hall have played a big role in their championship quest, especially since the two players have a lot of experience playing for former champions St Michel who have won the most league titles ‒ 12 ‒ since the return of club football in 1994.

Boasting a five-point lead over defending champions Côte d’Or, coach Nigel Freminot’s St Louis will be travelling to Praslin for an away tie against LightStars tomorrow at Stad Amitié and a win will see them lift the title.

A former St Michel and Seychelles national team central defender, coach Freminot has since the middle of the first round of the league been receiving the help of seasoned coach Ulric Mathiot as technical advisor. Mathiot, who played for St Louis as a midfielder and coached the team to a number of championship wins during the regionalistion area in the 1980s and 1990s, worked as technical advisor with Côte d’Or last year when they lifted the first division league crown. St Louis supporters will thus be hoping Mathiot brings the good luck with him tomorrow as Freminot and himself plot the downfall of LightStars on the way to winning the coveted crown.

Striker Robin Mousbé, who could also play as an attacking midfielder in his heyday and was part of the St Louis team who won the last championship in 1994, is confident this generation of players can change the team’s fortunes.

“I am confident the team will get a win tomorrow on Praslin to lift the championship trophy,” former mercurial striker Mousbé told Sports NATION.

“The players have been playing at a consistent level this year and you can see they are hungry for victory and silverware. They are just one win away from achieving their goal and they have to remain concentrated on what they have to do. Go St Louis!” exclaimed the 56-year-old.

A deadly finisher in his St Louis and national team heyday, Bernard Dorasamy had to cut his career short with an injury in 1993, the year Seychelles hosted the Indian Ocean Island Games for the first time, and he took up the coaching job to lead St Louis to win the classification league with the return of the club sports in 1994.

Asked if St Louis can win the league title tomorrow, Dorasamy replied: “Of course they will win it. St Louis have the best crop of players ever and have been playing a good brand of football. They have patterns, they have individual quality, they have pace and they are a team building up for the future. So, I am confident they will secure the title in style”.

Dorasamy, 55, added that main sponsor Gerard Waye-Hive was key to St Louis’ ambitious goal of winning the league title this year. “He has been the man behind the team’s success. Since his arrival the confidence came back, you can feel it and you can see that the team want to build on that,” he said.

With a five-point difference over defending champions Côte d’Or, St Louis can win the championship with a victory. In the event of St Louis losing and Côte d’Or also failing to pick up all three points against St Michel tomorrow, coach Freminot’s team will still win the title with a match to spare.

G. G.