The Lions dump Under-17 selection to reach quarterfinals |23 September 2017

First division club The Lions came from behind to dump third division Under-17 selection 4-2 at Stad Linite on Thursday afternoon to reach the quarterfinals of the SFF Cup.

The Lions opened the scoring through Randolph Lablache who had been out of action for more than two seasons, and he netted in the 4th minute for a 1-0 lead.

Two minutes later, referee Egbert Havelock awarded the Under-17 selection a penalty for a foul by Malagasy Clariel and Rino Pauline sent goalkeeper Raphael Moustache the wrong way from the penalty spot for a 1-1 score.

The Under-17 selection took the lead in the 9th minute from Denis Cafrine’s cross which was headed home by Calvin Ah-Kon for a 2-1 lead.

The Lions had to raise their game as they applied a lot of pressure and luck seemed to have deserted them but they managed to grab an equaliser in the 43rd minute as Denis Auguste smashed home a loose ball in the penalty area past goalkeeper Julio Marie to make it 2-2.

Two minutes later, Lablache pounced on a half-cleared ball that fell nicely to him in the penalty area for a 3-2 advantage at half-time.

The Lions made it 4-2 the final result when Liberian Mohamed Varney fired home Malagasy Lanto’s cross in the 70th minute to ensure his team’s safe passage to the next round.

R. J-L.

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Published: 23-09-2017