Beach Soccer - One Stone crowned tournament winner after comeback |17 July 2018

Real Maldives settle for third place

One Stone came back from a goal behind to defeat Sunrise FC and win the cup in the final of the Sey Pearl and Cable & Wireless Beach Soccer Tournament on Sunday at the Cable & Wireless Arena.

On Sunday there was also the third-place match between Real Maldives and Equator, with the former winning 5-3.

One Stone went up against Sunrise FC in a tough and challenging match all throughout the three twelve-minute periods.

The match kicked off with both teams challenging for the ball, and both continuously missing the target.

Sunrise FC goalkeeper Travis Cadeau was in excellent form, leaving the match open with many great saves throughout.

It was Sunrise who struck first in the middle of the first half, when Robinson Cadeau hit a perfectly-placed shot, which beat One Stone keeper and captain Damien Adela to open up the scoring.

One Stone did not take long to answer with a goal of their own, when Alpha Baldé made his presence known with a powerful shot past the goalkeeper to equalize, just two minutes after the first was scored. This back and forth affair continued in the first half and just seconds after equalising, One Stone paid the price when the ball passed their goalkeeper following a shot by Robinson Cadeau to give Sunrise back the lead.

This lead didn’t last long as with just two minutes left on the clock, One Stone’s Robin Mathiot managed to get the ball past the Sunrise goalkeeper to tie the match at 2-2.

With all the goals being scored in the first half, both teams refused to settle for a tie and a last minute goal by Sunrise FC’s Jess Cadeau gave his team the lead at the end of the first period.

The second period featured a more defensive play by Sunrise FC, while One Stone were on the attacking side, with Alpha Baldé hitting the post just 30 seconds into the second half.

His attempts continued and when One Stone were awarded a free kick, goalkeeper Travis Cadeau pushed his powerful shot out of play.

The best scoring chance for One Stone came when Mathiot dribbled the ball past the Sunrise FC defenders to find himself with just the goalkeeper to beat, but he passed the ball to Baldé who again failed to score.

Compared to the first period, the second one ended with both teams unable to get on the score board as Sunrise kept a 3-2 lead going into the third period.

One Stone struck fast in the final period of play and Aubrey Berlouis equalized with a low arching shot past the goalkeeper to make it 3-3 with just 15 seconds played.

This seemed to give the team a confidence boost as they doubled the attacking power hitting shots after shots, but they however failed to score.

In the end, it was Baldé who decided the game for One Stone with a clever back heel which kept the goalkeeper rooted to his spot as it rolled past the goal line with just one minute left in the match.

As the final seconds ran down on the clock, signs of joy were visible from the One Stone fans and players, as the referee blew the whistle to confirm a 4-3 win.

“I am delighted with the win and I am proud of the support by Sey Pearl which led to the creation of this tournament,” said One Stone Captain Damien Adela.

He added that it would be great if this could continue in the future, along with other competitions as well.

This, he said, will help develop the players and push the teams to play better.

R.R.