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Archive - Archive 2004 - July 2013

Football: Airtel Cup-St Louis Suns sweep aside Dynamo |18 July 2013

This fixture was abandoned when it was first played on Friday May 24 as the floodlights at the stadium were not sufficient to ensure clarity on the pitch and both teams opted not to resume the second half after a goalless first half.

The replay took place on Tuesday and St Louis Suns were the beneficiary as Dynamo had been without their coach Cliff Nolin who was with the national team in Zambia at the Council of Southern African Football Associations (Cosafa) Cup.

Coach Nolin told Sports Nation he only had one session to prepare his team for this match and it showed in their disjointed performance.

As for St Louis Suns, they had the edge despite lacking in competitive matches for almost two months.

St Louis Suns showed their intention as early as the ninth minute when Malagasy Falirina threaded a superb pass to captain Mervin Mathiot but he failed to connect.

Six minutes later, St Louis Suns duly went ahead as the impressive Falirina stole the ball from Daniel Maillet to release captain Mathiot whose cross was converted by Fabien Cadeau for a 1-0 lead.

St Louis Suns stretched their advantage in the 21st minute from defender Marlon Asba’s long clearance which fell invitingly to Malagasy Clariel. Dynamo defender Collin Tirant slipped badly letting the St Louis Suns striker free to fire past goalkeeper Jules Monnaie to make it 2-0.

St Louis Suns threatened to score again in the 24th minute from goalkeeper Joel Lesperance’s goalkick which came off Tirant’s head to fall at the feet of Cadeau whose fierce volley was pushed onto the crossbar by goalkeeper Monnaie.

After soaking the pressure, Dynamo tried to raise their game as St Louis Suns slackened and in the 26th minute Marcus Maria glided past Asba but his low shot was saved by goalkeeper Lesperance.

St Louis Suns were still dangerous when they countered and in the 28th minute, the hard-working Yannick Julie produced a brilliant reverse pass to set captain Mathiot in the clear but he blazed his shot over the crossbar with the goal at his mercy.

Ten minutes later, Dynamo almost reduced the arrears after Marty Fanny forayed forward to pick out Malagasy Asman Todisoa whose spectacular volley fell straight into Lesperance’s gloves.
St Louis Suns scored at a vital moment in the second half after Dynamo had come out with more purpose.

Falirina collected a loose ball in the 51st minute to filter a pass to captain Mathiot whose raking cross was spilled by goalkeeper Monnaie and Malagasy Clariel was on hand to bury the loose ball low into the net for a 3-0 score.

Once again St Louis Suns lowered their guard and Dynamo pounced in the 63rd minute as Maria’s darting run opened up their defence and his teasing cross was tapped in via the post by captain Evans Télémaque to cut the deficit to 1-3.

Dynamo were unlucky not to add a second goal four minutes later after a mêlée from a corner which was only cleared to Maria whose cross reached captain Télémaque but in a crowded penalty area he blasted over the bar as St Louis Suns rode their luck.

In the 68th minute, Dynamo’s defence was caught flat-footed from Nigel Freminot’s long pass to Clariel but defender Ronny Marengo handled the ball as he tried to cut out the pass.

The St Louis Suns supporters were calling for a straight red card but the Dynamo defender only received a yellow from referee Nelson Emile as he denied the Malagasy striker a clear run at goal.

St Louis Suns increased their lead in the 74th minute after Collin Tirant blocked substitute Elijah Tamboo who was running onto a through ball by Clariel to commit a blatant foul.

Referee Nelson Emile awarded a free-kick on the edge of Dynamo’s penalty area and captain Mathiot curled the ball over the wall and past a hapless goalkeeper Monnaie for a 4-1 lead.

Dynamo though continued to toil and in the 89th minute, Maria dropped deep to run at the St Louis Suns defence before feeding Malagasy Todisoa whose strong shot was parried by goalkeeper Lesperance.

St Louis Suns put the icing on the cake in injury time as Dynamo were outnumbered in defence as they pushed forward and Damien Maria played a long pass to substitute Ernesto Doway who cut inside defender Marengo to thump the ball into the roof of the net for a 5-1 scoreline.

Coach Michel Renaud told Sports Nation he was pleased with the result at the end of this entertaining match.

“We showed good ball circulation when we had possession and overall it was a satisfactory result after being out of action for quite a while,” St Louis Suns coach Renaud said.

R. J-L.

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