Football: Airtel Cup-St Michel struggle against 10-man Northern Dynamo |20 March 2007

Against a transformed Northern Dynamo team whose coach Cliff Nolin was back on the bench after having attended a coaching symposium in Spain, St Michel struggled and conceded a goal in the 11th minute.

Northern Dynamo’s Steven Télémaque eluded his marker to centre to Alex Dugasse who shot under goalie Nelson Sopha’s body for a shock 1-0 advantage.

Northern Dynamo, who had beaten St Michel in the league last year to eventually cost the Anse Aux Pins-based team the title, threatened to repeat the same feat but their defence naivety did not help their cause.

In the 36th minute, St Michel’s Alex Nibourette pounced on a defensive error to dribble past two defenders before crossing to Nelson Laurence who was badly positioned or else he would have leveled the score.

Two minutes later, St Michel equalized somewhat controversially as referee Jean-Claude Labrosse awarded them a flimsy penalty. It all started from Don Anacoura’s corner to Steve Stephen at the near post and the official adjudged that the St Michel player had been held and pushed in the back.

Northern Dynamo players were furious as they protested and at one point it looked like they were going to walk off the pitch but were advised against such a move by their officials on the bench. When calm was restored, captain Godfrey Denis stepped up to beat goalie Jules Monnaie with his spot kick.

In the 42nd minute, St Michel almost took the lead from Anacoura’s corner which was met by Philip Zialor’s header but the ball was cleared on the goal-line. Zialor again failed to score with a header in the 49th minute after he was picked out by Laurence’s cross.

In the 55th minute, the game threatened to turn on its head as Laurence bore on goal and was clearly hacked down on the edge of Northern Dynamo’s penalty area but referee Labrosse waved play on and as the ball was pumped forward Francis Moumou burst through for Northern Dynamo and was tripped by St Michel’s defender Denis Belle and again the official failed to award the infringement.

This incident infuriated Andrew Maria who had a go at referee Labrosse and was booked but he continued his protest and was eventually sent off.

To add insult to injury, St Michel went ahead 10 minutes later after a terrible mix-up between defender Jake Constant and goalie Monnaie. They both hesitated to deal with a long ball before bumping into each other allowing Anacoura to shoot into an empty net (2-1).

In the 72nd minute, St Michel’s substitute Jeffrey Brutus set up another substitute, Marcel Labiche, who forced a good save out of goalie Monnaie.

St Michel’s relentless pressure paid off in the 78th minute as Laurence charged into the penalty box but was blocked by goalie Monnaie. The rebound fell to Anacoura whose teasing cross was turned into his own net by Steve Henriette as he attempted to clear the danger (3-1).

Northern Dynamo, who had brought on their two Malagasies in the second half, reduced the arrears in the 85th minute as Abdou was brought down by Lorenzo Mathiot inside the danger zone and Henriette blasted the resulting spot kick past goalie Sopha.

In the dying minutes, St Michel had several good chances to extend their lead but goalie Monnaie denied both Laurence and Brutus, who also headed a clear chance over the cross-bar.

St Michel’s manager Brian Uranie praised Northern Dynamo for giving his team a run for their money and added that the three points were vital though they did not perform well in the absence of their Malagasy striker Pascal who is away with his national team.

As for coach Nolin, he was satisfied with his team’s performance and is confident that they can keep up their good showing to end their losing streak.

R. J-L.