Football: Barclays league division one-La Passe overcome St Michel, St Louis Suns win at last |05 October 2009
On Mahe on the same day, St Louis Suns beat Anse Reunion whilst on Praslin Lightstars gunned down Dynamo.
On Friday at Stade Linite, SMB trashed Foresters 6-1.
La Passe – St Michel
It was the top of the table clash which aroused plenty of interest and St Michel had quite a lot of their supporters converge on La Digue to witness this drama unfold. La Passe, who have had a very good record against St Michel in recent years, got off to a bad start as goalie Dave Mussard was adjudged to have handled outside the box by referee Jourdan Benstrong in the opening fifteen minutes. Referee Benstrong did not hesitate to send off the reserve goalie, much to the disgust of the La Passe camp. La Passe had to bring on Vincent Euphrasie who though was not fully fit.
The onus was on St Michel as they had the player advantage but they could only make their superiority count in the 48th minute when Don Anacoura opened the scoring for a 1-0 lead.
The goal though spurred La Passe on as they put pressure on St Michel and they duly levelled matters in the 65th minute through Achille Henriette’s header which caused the fans to invade the pitch in wild celebrations. La Passe struck a deadly blow to St Michel’s hopes of retaining the crown they have won for the last year two years when Ted Esther headed home in injury time to make it 2-1. Esther was so filled with emotion that he pulled off his t-shirt in celebration and was given his second yellow card and was sent off.
Nine-man La Passe though held on for a famous victory when the odds were stacked against them and now need only a draw in their last league match at home to St Louis Suns this coming weekend.
As for St Michel, they will rue this golden opportunity and now they no longer have their destiny in their own hands.
St Louis Suns win at last
It has been more than two months since St Louis Suns had registered a win in the league and more so they had not defeated Anse Reunion in three league encounters this season.
Things looked bleak for the Victoria-based team as Anse Reunion opened the scoring in the third minute when Philip Zialor flashed a free-kick past goalie Eugene Valentin for a 1-0 lead.
A minute later Zialor threaded a pass to Malagasy Milison Niasere who fired at goalie Valentin who did well to parry his shot.
On a swift counter attack Ugandan Jimmy Kidega fed Andy Mougal whose thumped shot was pushed out by goalie Ricky Rose.
In the tenth minute, Zialor curled a wicked free-kick at the near post and Milison got a header to it which grazed the post.
Anse Reunion’s Yelvany Rose also tested goalie Valentin with a long-range effort which he saved well in the 19th minute.
St Louis Suns though slowly took control of the match with their quick attacks and in the 21st minute Eddy Bistoé’s through ball released Wilnes Brutus but goalie Ricky Rose was quick off his line to clear the danger.
In the 32nd minute, Zialor opened up St Louis Suns with a glorious ball to Milison who was yards offside but assistant Walter Underwood failed to raise his flag. Milison looked odds on to score but he hit the cross-bar as goalie Valentin closed him down.
St Louis Suns countered as the ball was played to Brutus who wriggled past a couple of defenders before intelligently pulling the ball back to Trevor Poiret who eluded a tackle to blast the ball into the roof of the net for a 1-1 score.
In the 34th minute, St Louis Suns almost took the lead as Mougal picked out the unmarked Poiret whose clear header hit the cross-bar when he should have hit the target.
In the 35th minute, Ryan Antat set up Kidega whose thunderous shot forced a hip-over save for goalie Rose.
St Louis Suns should have taken the lead in the 40th minute as Fabien Cadeau, playing at left back, galloped forward to deliver a great pass on a plate to Brutus who was in the clear but his control let him down.
St Louis Suns continued to dominate in the second period though at times they were hard done by the officials.
In the 50th minute, Mougal went on a mazy run in the penalty box and was brought down and the ball broke to Brutus. Referee Gonzague Boniface played the advantage but Brutus shot in the side-netting after rounding goalie Rose.
Anse Reunion responded a minute later from a long ball which was headed down to Zialor whose volley was saved.
In the 54th minute, Brutus again was the provider as he waltzed past a couple of defenders to centre to Antat who miss-timed his header but Poiret made no mistake with a header which crossed the line to make it 2-1.
Three minutes later Anse Reunion were lucky not to have Armantal Ernesta sent off as he lashed out at Antat who went to the ground.
Referee Boniface did not see the incident and consulted with his officials who also had failed to spot the infringement, matter which infuriated the St Louis Suns bench.
Just past the hour mark, St Louis Suns had a great opportunity wrongly halted by assistant referee Underwood for a non-existent offside as Antat latched onto Brutus’ through ball.
In the 64th minute, St Louis Suns created havoc in the Anse Reunion as Brutus back heeled to Poiret who rounded goalie Ricky Rose to play to Mougal whose diving shot was cleared on the goal line.
Anse Reunion tried to rally later on but St Louis Suns stood solid especially in defence where Damien Maria and Cadeau had performed admirably in a very good team performance which surely reassures their supporters.
SMB trash ten-men Foresters
SMB registered a very rare win with a 6-1 victory over relegated Foresters on Friday evening.
SMB opened the scoring in the 25th minute from the penalty spot after goalie Joel Jean had brought down Gerard Basset in full flight and was sent off by referee Bernard Camille.
Kevin Quatre stepped up to beat Gervais Saminadin, who had taken up the goalkeeping role, for a 1-0 lead.
Foresters Kilindo restored SMB’s lead in the 54th minute and Kevin Quatre added a second in the 82nd minute for a 3-1 advantage.
Two minutes later Yannick Duval broke from defence to race clear and fire a low shot past goalie Saminadin for a 4-1 lead.
Gerard Basset made it 5-1 in the 89th minute before David Dorby sealed the emphatic victory in injury time for a 6-1 triumph.
Lightstars gun down Dynamo
Lightstars continued their good form as Malagasy Mario Elvis Ravo set his team on their way to victory with a goal in the first half. Captain Bertrand Esther sealed the win with a header in the second period for a 2-1 win.
R. J. L.