AIRTEL CUP: FOOTBALL-The Lions and Anse Reunion draw, La Passe demolish St Francis 4-0 |27 May 2013
Another Pool B match between St Louis Suns and Northern Dynamo on Friday was cut short
In the Saturday match at Stad Linite, the boys of Coach Gavin Jeanne had taken the lead in the 6th minute through Yannick Charlette as he fired past goalie Jean-Paul Ah-Kong for a 1-0 lead.
However Anse Reunion raised their game as they dominated the half and in the 19th minute Malagasy Hugo Sezou bore forward but his curling shot sailed just wide.
The Lions almost extended their lead in the 21st minute as Denis Auguste, who was clearly offside but was not flagged by assistant referee Eldrick Adelaide, linked up with captain Randolph Lablache who squared to Darrel Damoo, but he shot wide.
Anse Reunion was still the better side as in the 31st minute, Norvil Gaspard combined with Malagasy Jules Rapiera to set up Nickerro Marie but he shot wide.
On the stroke of half time, Anse Reunion were rewarded for their endeavours as Nickerro Marie was brought down by Dean Bristol, who was replacing the suspended Gino Agathine in defence. Referee Kierens Yocette pointed to the spot for a penalty and Malagasy Hugo Sezou stepped up to easily blast the ball past goalie Raphael Moustache to make it 1-1.
The Lions improved in the second half but failed to create a decent opportunity and Anse Reunion threatened to grab all the points and in the 80th minute Anse Reunion’s captain Eddy should have done better with Roderick Rose’s corner kick which he headed wide.
A minute later, The Lions also went close as captain Lablache bore forward to link up with Auguste whose shot forced a good save out of goalie Jean-Paul Ah-Kong.
Anse Reunion nearly scored a winner in the dying minutes from Roderick Rose’s free kick to Captain Eddy whose header came off the crossbar as the two teams had to be content with a share of the points.
La Passe - St Francis
Former St Francis striker Yves Zialor gave La Passe the lead in their match against St Francis on La Digue on Saturday.
Malagasy Valerie stretched La Passe’s lead for a 2-0 advantage before Zialor scored again for a 3-0 score at half time.
Malagasy Valerie sealed St Francis’ misery with his brace in the second half for an emphatic 4-0 victory.
St Louis Suns and Dynamo match abandoned
In the match between St Louis Suns and Northern Dynamo on Friday referee Nelson Emile abandoned the match 1 minute 30 seconds into the second half as the two captains decided that visibility was too poor as there was minimal light from the floodlights.
This was a disgrace for the sports authorities as this has been a problem for some time and it is regrettable that nothing has been done to rectify this matter by the football federation and NSC.
As for the first half, it was filled with action after it started on a somber note with a minute silence observed by the two sets of players as a mark of respect for the death of the grandfather of St Louis Suns’ Kelly Nibourette.
Earlier before the kick, the Barclays Bank marketing manager, Sonny Barra, assisted by the federation’s secretary general Jemmy Adela presented Dynamo’s Marcus Maria with the player of the month award which was the first for this season.
St Louis Suns looked the more threatening in a not so tight Dynamo defence and in the 14th minute Malagasy Falirinia played a glorious crossfield pass to captain Mervin Mathiot who was in a good scoring position. Dynamo’s Collin Tirant produced a great last ditch tackle to deny the St Louis Suns skipper.
Four minutes later St Louis Suns’ Denis Barbe drilled a free kick in the Dynamo penalty area which created a melée and there were even appeals for a penalty as there appeared to be a Dynamo player who handled the ball but referee Emile was not convinced.
In the 20th minute, St Louis Suns again should have opened the scoring from Malagasy Clariel’s superb cross into the path of captain Mathiot but somehow he could not direct his free header on target.
Dynamo almost stole the lead in the 33rd minute from Kieren Sinon’s through ball to Malagasy Asman Todisoa who outsped St Louis Suns defence but goalkeeper Joel Lesperance produced a great block to stop Dynamo going ahead.
In the 42nd minute, Dynamo’s skipper Evans Telemaque saw his well taken free kick come off the crossbar before goalie Lesperance cleared the danger.
As for the second half, unfortunately it was short lived due to some unacceptable technical issues.