Football: Division one league - St Louis are league champions |20 November 2017
● Côte d’Or, La Passe, Revengers win
St Louis claimed the 2017 division one league title with a 3-0 away victory against LightStars at Stad Amitié on Saturday to wrestle the crown from Côte d’Or who beat St Michel 2-1 on Mahé on the same day.
On the same day at Stad Linite, Côte d’Or made sure of the runners-up position with a 2-1 win over former champions St Michel, while La Passe edged Airtel Cup winners Northern Dynamo 2-1.
On Friday at Stad Linite, Malagasy Evelyn netted a nine-minute hat-trick to help Praslin side Revengers fight back from a two-goal deficit to beat St John Bosco 4-2.
St Louis champions after 23-year drought
St Louis had opened up a five-point lead at the top of the league standings with two matches to play as the outgoing champions were playing catch-up but on Saturday, coach Nigel Freminot’s team made sure of all the points to wrap up their first league title in 23 years and it sparked wild celebrations on Praslin and in the district as the team and their travelling fans arrived on Mahé on Saturday evening.
The players of coach Freminot had taken the lead against LightStars as early as the 5th minute from a Karl Hall header to make it 1-0. The goal settled the nerves of the league leaders and on the half hour mark, Nigerian Kazeem Adeyeri was given too much space to manoeuvre in the LightStars defence and he rifled the ball past goalkeeper Densley Joubert to make it 2-0.
LightStars tried to carry the game to their opponents who held firm and made sure of all the points in the 70th minute from a substitute Gervais Waye-Hive cross which was met by a thunderous Jean-Paul Aglaé header which had goal marked all over it to seal a 3-0 victory which was enough to help St Louis claim the league title. The players rejoiced at the final whistle for a job well done against a tough customer, according to coach Freminot despite the scoreline.
“It was a difficult match despite the margin of victory as LightStars really pushed us especially their strike force which stretched us a lot but we managed to keep them at bay as the players played really well and stayed organised when they did not have the ball and defended stoutly. But we made a great start as we scored early and were always in control of proceedings. I must congratulate my players for the great effort they put in in this exciting season as well as the management and the technical team for helping this team win the league title after a 23-year drought and we dedicate this crown to the people of this district who love their football and are passionate about their team,” coach Freminot told Sports NATION after the match.
Sport NATION would like to congratulate St Louis on winning the title though they will have to wait for their penultimate league match this week against Revengers to be presented with their coveted trophy.
Côte d’Or do the double over St Michel
Côte d’Or may have relinquished their crown but they made sure they secured the runners-up berth with a hard fought 2-1 triumph over fourth-placed St Michel as they beat their fiercest opponents in both rounds of the league this season.
This was an open match that could have gone either way as St Michel should have taken the lead in the 13th minute when Yannick Manou floated a long ball forward to Malagasy Benjamin Razakatiana who got a lucky bounce to beat defender Marcus François and he only had to head the ball past the advancing goalkeeper Neddy Lesperance but somehow he missed the ball.
Côte d’Or responded in the 26th minute when Nigerian Peter Adeshina was allowed to shoot at goalkeeper Alvin Michel on the edge of the penalty area and the goalkeeper produced a flying save to turn the ball away into corner.
On the half hour mark, the St Michel goalkeeper made an even better save to deny Dine Suzette who had picked up Collin Esther’s deflected shot and his goal-bound shot forced goalkeeper Michel to make a top drawer save.
In the 34th minute at the other end, Razakatiana hustled hard for the ball as he nicked it from Oliver Bonté but his attempt to curl the ball into the far corner sailed narrowly wide.
Two minutes later, Suzette missed a sitter after Collin Esther had done all the spade work to flash a ball across the face of the St Michel goal but the diminutive striker failed to connect.
Suzette though made amends in the 38th minute after Malagasy Jean Tigana dispossessed Andy Mougal who was overindulging with the ball and the Malagasy playmaker released Suzette who raced on goal as he left Nelson Laurence in his wake and his mishit shot still crept in at the near post for a 1-0 lead for the Praslin outfit.
On the stroke of half-time St Michel had a decent appeal for a penalty turned down by referee Jean-Claude Labrosse when Ghanaian Emmanuel Nuhey robbed Tigana of the ball and Tigana brought him down along with ball but the official only gave a corner for a 1-0 score at the interval.
Côte d’Or also had a very strong case for a penalty waved away in the 55th minute as Suzette raced in the box to meet Tigana’s teasing cross and was pushed in the back by St Michel skipper Alex Nibourette but referee Labrosse again was not convinced.
The outgoing league champions added a second goal in the 58th minute from a sweeping passing move involving Collin Esther who fed Suzette down the line and he linked up with Tigana whose shot was deflected to Nigerian Godwin Okwara who bundled the ball at the far post into the net to make it 2-0.
Côte d’Or should have extended their lead on the hour mark from a beautiful back heel by Suzette to send Tigana galloping on goal but goalkeeper Michel stood tall to block his near post shot though the Malagasy was a bit selfish as he should have squared the ball to the unmarked Okwara who was in a better scoring position.
St Michel cut the deficit in the 74th minute when Nigel Hoareau hooked a hopeful ball forward and the Côte d’Or defence remained static allowing Neil Confiance a free run on goal and he smashed it past goalkeeper Lesperance for a 1-2 score.
The goal revived St Michel as they tried to salvage at least a point and both Manou and captain Nibourette went close in a frenetic end to the match but it was Suzette who had the clearest chance in the 83rd minute from a flick on by substitute Ryan Antat but he shot straight at goalkeeper Michel with the goal at his mercy but his team had done enough to collect three points to guarantee their runners-up position and this was some consolation for coach Nicolas Simouri when he spoke to Sports NATION after the match.
“It was important to win this prestigious match against one of the best teams locally as now we have beaten them twice this season in the league and this victory also confirms our second position after we surrendered the league. It was a good match where we played some good football at times today and I must thank the players for their effort,” the Côte d’Or coach told Sports NATION.
As for St Michel manager Andrew Jean-Louis, he was disappointed with his team’s lack of sharpness in front of goal which in his view was the difference in this match.
“We had our moments in this match but we were wayward in our finishing in the first half and then we gifted our opponents an opening goal. We did not start well in the second half but when we scored we had a decent spell where we could have leveled the score but poor finishing was again our shortcoming,” explained the St Michel manager.
La Passe edge Northern Dynamo
La Digue side La Passe edged Airtel Cup winners Northern Dynamo 2-1 on La Digue at the L’Union playing field on Saturday afternoon.
Both teams failed to score in the first period but third placed La Passe scored twice after the break with goals from Perry Monnaie and Marcus Labiche for a 2-0 lead only for Northern Dynamo’s Gambian striker Musa Njie to score to reduce the deficit to 1-2 the final result.
The win helps the players of coach Bruno Saindini secure third position in the league as their hopes of piping Côte d’Or for second place is over with only one match remaining.
Revengers fight back against St John Bosco
Praslin side Revengers had to fight back from a two-goal deficit to beat St John Bosco 4-2 at Stad Linite on Friday.
St John Bosco, who had already been relegated, took a 2-0 lead courtesy of goals from Keddy Moustache in the 4th minute and Kersen Brutus in the 13th minute, but Malagasy Evelyn cut the arrears in the 25th minute for a 2-1 score.
It was then that last season’s league top scorer, Malagasy Evariste grabbed this match by the scruff of its neck with a brilliant nine-minute hat-trick.
Evariste netted his first goal in the 32nd minute, got his brace in the 36th minute before bagging his hat-trick in the 41st minute to inspire his team to a 4-2 victory though they are still in the play-off zone with the same number of points as 10th-placed Foresters and they play league champions St Louis in their last match, while Foresters face St Michel.
R. J-L.