Football: Airtel Cup-La Passe, Anse Reunion, Côte d’Or, LightStars win |22 July 2013
La Passe beat Northern Dynamo 4-1, Anse Reunion defeated visitors St Roch 2-0, Côte d’Or gave their fans something to cheer about by edging St Michel 1-0 and LightStars came from a goal down to thump St Francis 4-1.
St Francis vs LightStars
St Francis started the match brightly as LightStars took time to adjust but the first real chance fell to LightStars’ Bertrand Esther whose 15th minute header from an Andrew Jean corner was cleared on the goalline.
Five minutes later, St Francis had a great opportunity as Malagasy Branly Zizi broke clear to lob a defender before laying off the ball to Ryan Antat but LightStars had retreated to clear the danger.
St Francis opened the scoring in the 32nd minute after LightStars goalkeeper Basil Esther dropped Stan Fanchette’s cross and Antat was there to punish him to make it 1-0.
In the 35th minute, LightStars’ striker Bertrand Lablache collected a throw-in from Marlon Dugasse, turn and let fly a cracking shot which St Francis goalkeeper Andrea Libanotis could only block with his leg.
LightStars should have leveled matters in the 42nd minute as St Francis captain Ronny Monthy and goalkeeper Libanotis got in a mix-up to let in Andrew Jean but with the goal at
But Andrew Jean had a great second half and tested goalkeeper Libanotis with a 49th minute stinging shot which he just managed to tip over.
LightStars’ pressure paid off in the 52nd minute from Jean’s corner and defender Romeo Barra rose majestically to head home for a 1-1 score.
In the 55th minute, LightStars should have taken the lead as Lablache beat St Francis’ offside trap to centre to Malagasy Mario Ravo who rounded goalkeeper Libanotis but his shot was cleared on the goalline.
A minute later, LightStars went ahead from a brilliant free-kick by Andrew Jean. He curled in a fantastic shot which hit the far post before crossing the line to make it 2-1 with goalkeeper Libanotis rooted to the spot.
On the hour mark, Jean completed his brace as Malagasy Haja lost control of the ball allowing him to coolly slot the loose ball past goalkeeper Libanotis for a 3-1 score.
LightStars were always dangerous on the attack and in the 80th minute Jean threaded a pass to Lablache whose thumping shot was blocked by goalkeeper Libanotis with his legs.
In the 88th minute, Dugasse picked out Jean on the right and he fed Lablache whose initial shot was charged down. But Lablache got a second bite of the cherry to blast the ball into the net for a convincing 4-1 scoreline for LightStars.
Côte d’Or v St Michel
This was a repeat of last year’s Airtel Cup final and there was a lot at stake for both teams especially St Michel who wanted to avenge their defeat in the league to this Côte d’Or side.
However, Côte d’Or delighted their fans on Saturday at the Amitié Stadium with a single strike in the 35th minute to beat St Michel once again.
Renick Esther beat St Michel’s offside trap to set up Dine Suzette who fired past goalkeeper Nelson Sopha to score and lead his team Côte d’Or to a 1-0 victory in this group A encounter.
Anse Reunion v St Roch
Anse Reunion defeated St Roch 2-0 on La Digue on Saturday in a group A match.
Former St Louis Suns Malagasy midfielder Gilles Rapiera gave Anse Reunion a 1-0 lead at half-time.
Roderick Rose scored from the penalty spot to seal the score at 2-0 and assure his team all three points.
Northern Dynamo v La Passe
Last Friday at Stad Linite, La Passe added to Northern Dynamo’s troubles as they ripped them apart with a 4-1 win at the Unity Stadium.
Malagasy Valerie was the hero for the La Digue side as he grabbed a hat-trick.
Northern Dynamo’s midfielder Valerio Derothé reduced the arrears in the 54th minute for a 1-2 score.
Malagasy Valerie completed his hat-trick in the 71st minute to make it 3-1.
National team striker Yves Zialor, who scored twice against Namibia in the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) Cup, scored a fourth goal in the 73rd minute for a 4-1 scoreline.
La Passe had numerous chances to increase the scoreline as Northern Dynamo pushed forward to redress the balance but they were rather wasteful.
But La Passe’s coach Bruno Saindini was happy his team had achieved their objective.
“We did not play as well as we are capable of but at least we achieved our objective and this is a boost for my team,” coach Saindini told Sports Nation.
As for Northern Dynamo coach Cliff Nolin he felt his team had chances but did not make the most of them and in the end paid the price.
“We showed a slight improvement in our performance but we still have to work hard to improve our results. We only have ourselves to blame for our current form,” noted coach Nolin.
Northern Dynamo have lost twice in the space of four days and have conceded nine goals which is a cause for concern for coach Nolin while La Passe will be pleased with such an emphatic result.
R. J-L.