Football: Division One-Sunshine squeeze past Light Stars |19 August 2006

Sunshine made a bright start as they took the lead in the sixth minute from a good move with Nerick Athanase providing a perfectly weighted pass to his captain Denis Barbé who had burst from midfield to drill the ball past Light Stars’ goalie Paul Ah-kong.

Light Stars were hard done by the official in the 15th minute. Sunshine’s Ted Esther gave the ball away to Darren Omath, but as he raced on goal, assistant referee Winsley Françoise signaled for a bizarre offside decision.

Sunshine continued to dominate proceedings and in the 21st minute, young Kevin Quatre’s persistence was rewarded with his first goal for his team in the league. Quatre latched on to a through ball which goalie Ah-kong had it covered but the custodian allowed Quatre to dispossess him and shoot in an empty net to make it 2-0.

In the 32nd minute, Athanase, in an apparently offside position which assistant referee Hensley Petrouse did not flag, set up captain Barbé who also looked offside. Barbé’s near post shot was parried into corner by goalie Ah-kong.

On the stroke of half-time, Light Stars’ Bertrand Esther was caught dithering with the ball by Athanase but the burly defender recovered in time to block the Sunshine striker’s shot.

Sunshine almost killed off the contest in the first minute of the second half. George Ravinia pounced on Congolese Magnifique Ndikumana’s error to race on goal but goalie Ah-kong denied him with a vital save with his feet.

On the counter-attack, Light Stars were to reduce the arrears as Omath centred inside Sunshine’s penalty area. As the defence hesitated to clear, Tanzanian Jonathan Mbanze latched onto the loose ball to bury it into the roof of the net and past goalie Vincent Euphrasie for a 2-1 score.

On the hour mark, minutes after goalie Euphrasie had raced out of his penalty area for almost a metre to clear the ball after having made a save and the infringement was not spotted by assistant referee Petrousse, Sunshine were lucky to survive. Mbanze, who looked offside, bore on goal but he touched the ball just a bit too far and thus fluffed a great opportunity.

Light Stars kept pressing for an equaliser and in the 85th minute Kevin Prosper, who also looked offside, threatened to score but shot disappointingly across the face of Sunshine’s goal.

The Praslin-based side’s last chance to salvage a point came in the 89th minute as Rwandan Massoud Irambona lofted a free-kick inside Sunshine’s penalty area and Mbanze, again looking offside, glanced his header on target but goalie Euphrasie was well placed to thwart the danger and assure Sunshine their first win in four attempts since the resumption of the second round of the league championship.

R. J-L.