Football: Airtel Cup final - Northern Dynamo lift first major title |25 September 2017

Northern Dynamo won the Airtel Cup in a 2-1 narrow victory over St Louis at Stad Linite on Saturday afternoon in a match attended by a very large crowd in a beautiful sunshine.

The security was bolstered ten-fold for this final and football lovers hope this becomes a routine instead of a one-off show.

As for the match, the two teams were greeted before kick-off by the Minister for Youth, Sports and Culture Mitcy Larue, Airtel chief executive Amadou Dina along and Seychelles Football Federation (SFF) vice-chairman Dolor Ernesta in the absence of chairman Elvis Chetty who is overseas on medical ground. In the stands, the two teams were being represented by their respective members of the National Assembly ‒ Regina Esparon for Glacis and Sandy Arrisol for St Louis.

Northern Dynamo came out of the blocks from the word go as St Louis looked tense and overwhelmed by the occasion.

The north Mahé team won a free kick as early as the 5th minute when St Louis defender Henny Dufresne tripped Malagasy Rajamana who was heading for goal on the edge of the penalty area.

Rajamana took the free kick himself and curled it beautifully via the post and it rolled over the goal-line for a 1-0 lead to delight his fans as St Louis’s Malagasy goalkeper Michel was left stranded.

The early goal set the tone of the match with Northern Dynamo firing on all cylinders and St Louis skipper Bertrand Esther was lucky to earn only a yellow card for a trip on dangerman Rajamana when he was in full flight to concede a free kick which came to no avail.

The players of captain Warren Mellie added a second goal against a disjointed St Louis defence which gave Gambian Musa Njie too much space to pick out Wesley Esther who showed good composure to stab the ball low past goalkeeper Michel into the far corner for a 2-0 advantage as their fans were in dreamland.

St Louis were given a lifeline in the 32nd minute when Northern Dynamo captain Mellie was harshly penalised for a foul on Nigerian Kazeem Adeyeri to give away a soft penalty which was flagged by assistant referee James Emile and referee Emile Fred pointed to the spot.

Malagasy Tahiry stepped up to coolly slot the ball past goalkeeper Ricky Pool to reduce the arrears to 1-2 for the score at half-time.

St Louis had to throw caution to the wind in the second half but they lacked creativity and good team play with Northern Dynamo adopting a more cautious approach.

In the 55th minute, Tahiry skipped past defender Kevin Estico to centre in the penalty area but goalkeeper Pool was alert to clear the danger.

Tahiry again showed urgency in the 62nd minute to flash a teasing cross which fell invitingly to Adeyeri but he shot straight at goalkeeper Pool.

Northern Dynamo were happy just to contain their opponents who looked lethargic and lacking in ideas and they almost got caught on a counter by substitute Aldo Dufresne in the 67th minute from a Marcus Maria cross as goalkeeper Michel rushed out of his goal to clear the danger but was beaten to the ball but it sailed over the crossbar much to his relief.

Northern Dynamo slowed down the pace of the match as the minutes ticked away with St Louis struggling to show the form that has made them unbeaten in the second round of the league and lead the standings. In added time, Northern Dynamo manager Clive Delorie was sent to the stands by referee Emile Fred for his over protest.

But it was insignificant at the final whistle as Northern Dynamo danced at their deserved cup triumph which was their first ever while it was the second season running that St Louis lose in this final.

The cups and medals were presented to the two teams by Minister Larue, Mr Dina, the main sponsor from telecommunication company Airtel, and SFF vice-chairman Ernesta before captain Mellie received the prestigious cup and then celebrated it with his fans and family as there was an explosion of joy from this young team.

Northern Dynamo’s Musa Njie was voted the Airtel brand ambassador which is equivalent to the player of this competition and he received his prize from Airtel boss Dina after the match.

Sports NATION would like to congratulate Northern Dynamo on their cup success and wish them well for the rest of the season.

R. J-L.