Football: Airtel Cup-St Louis Suns draw to make semis |07 May 2007
St Louis Suns v La Passe
St Louis Suns did not enjoy a good start to the match as they conceded a goal after just 35 seconds of play.
It all started from a hesitant defence which allowed La Passe’s Malagasy Eric Rajaobery to shoot the ball past goalie Eugene Valentin for a 1-0 advantage.
But La Passe, who had travelled to Mahe with just 12 players because of injuries, could not hold on long to their lead as they conceded a penalty in the eighth minute following St Louis Suns’ relentless pressure.
Yannick Charlette was adjudged to have been brought down in the penalty area and referee Jean-Claude Labrosse pointed to the penalty spot.
Former La Passe’s defender Jonathan Bibi stepped up to beat goalie Kitson Cécile to make it 1-1.
From then on, St Louis Suns continued to pressure La Passe as both Trevor Poiret and Jones Joubert found plenty of space on the wings. In the 20th minute, Joubert managed to elude his marker and crossed to Achille Henriette who could not direct his header on target.
In the 28th minute, St Louis Suns produced a good move involving captain Denis Barbé and Poiret to release Joubert who shot wide in a good scoring position.
St Louis Suns again went close in the 33rd minute as Malagasy Ralida bore forward to link up with Joubert who set up Charlette who shot straight at goalie Cécile when he should have done better.
In the second half, St Louis Suns picked up from where they had left off and in the 51st minute, Ralida moved menacingly forward unchallenged but he could not keep his shot on target.
Three minutes later, St Louis Suns rode their luck as La Passe’s Malagasy player Jean Done broke clear and shook off the challenge of Jude Marie to shoot at goal and goalie Valentin, who had come out of his goal, just got a touch to the ball to deflect it into corner.
La Passe though had their backs to the wall in the second period and at times they were too physical, costing them dearly as Rajoaberry, playing in an awkward left back position, tripped Poiret and was sent off for a second bookable offence in the 76th minute.
As for St Louis Suns, they created a lot of openings but just could not create the clear-cut chances for their strikers. The closest they came to scoring was in the 84th minute when substitute Robert Suzette filtered a through-ball to Poiret who, on the turn, flashed a superb shot which flew agonisingly wide of goalie Cécile’s far post.
La Passe’s Mauritian coach France L’Aiguille said he was satisfied with the result as they had nothing to lose in the match for they had already qualified for the semifinal.
As for St Louis Suns’ coach Marc Mathiot, he rued the number of missed opportunities though he was pleased with the result which placed them in the semifinal and an eagerly awaited meeting with St Michel.
Anse Réunion vs Red Star
Defending Airtel Cup winners Red Star took the lead in the second half through Bernard St Ange’s long range shot.
But the reigning league champions equalised through Kenyan midfielder Patrick Awuor Nafukho.
Northern Dynamo vs St Michel
Northern Dynamo fought back from a two-goal deficit to salvage a 2-2 draw against St Michel at Stad Linite on Friday.
In a match marred by poor level of officiating which almost got out of hands, St Michel fielded their reserve team as most of their first team players had been away on the national team’s disastrous participation in the Cosafa Castle Cup.
As a result, St Michel’s defence looked vulnerable and Malagasy Hassman Abdou was a constant threat.
In the 21st minute, Abdou broke clear and was bundled over by Denis Belle but referee Gavin Jeanne was unconvinced.
Eight minutes later, Asman Todisoa surged into the penalty area but his centre was saved by goalkeeper Gino Melanie.
St Michel’s first real attack of substance came in the 38th minute as Malagasy Clovis linked up with James Bonne whose cross was fumbled over the goal-line by custodian Jules Monnaie to give St Michel the lead.
Northern Dynamo again gave away a clumsy goal on the stroke of half-time as defender Jean-Alain Valentin tried to dribble past Marcel Labiche who stole the ball from him to cross to Steve Stephen who shot past goalie Monnaie to give St Michel a 2-0 advantage.
Northern Dynamo showed more urgency in the second half and in 50th minute, Steven Télémaque found space on the right to rifle a shot at goalie Melanie who saved well.
Just past the hour, Northern Dynamo reduced the arrears as Abdou eluded defender Belle who handled the ball as he slid to tackle. Referee Jeanne pointed to the penalty spot and Abdou stepped up to blast the ball into the roof of the net to reduce the score to 2-1.
Eight minutes later, Northern Dynamo were on level terms as Todisoa’s corner was half-cleared to Steven Télémaque who volleyed the ball through a crowd of legs to make it 2-2.
Northern Dynamo sensed victory as they increased the tempo and in the 71st minute Abdou and Todisoa opened up the St Michel defence with a neat one-two, but goalie Melanie produced a great block to deny Abdou at point-blank range.
In a rare attack for St Michel in the 79th minute, captain Danny César centred to the unmarked Stephen but he hurried his shot when he had all the time in the world to pick his spot.
A minute later, Northern Dynamo had the opportunity to take the lead as Evans Télémaque released Abdou who was brought down by goalie Melanie. Abdou decided to take the spot kick but his low shot was blocked by the ‘keeper who redeemed himself and the ball rolled to the same Abdou who got a second bite of the cherry but the goalie again denied him.
In the end, a draw was a fair result as St Michel’s manager Brian Uranie told Sports Nation.
As for Northern Dynamo’s coach Cliff Nolin, he said that his team had a poor first half but improved drastically in the second period where they could even have won the match.
R. J-L.