Barclays league division one football-St Michel drop points, Anse Reunion beat St Louis Suns, La Passe bounce back |12 April 2010

St Francis hold St Michel

This match was a game of two halves as St Michel dominated the first and should have scored more than the two goals they bagged. As for St Francis, they probably paid too much respect to their opponents in the first period.

St Michel got off to a flying start as Malagasy Nestor Benahovy scored with a fierce shot in the third minute which beat goalie Andrea Libanotis for a 1-0 lead.

St Michel were the much better side as they created numerous opportunities but were wasteful in front of goal.

It was only in the 32nd minute that they managed to increase their lead through Wilnes Brutus for a 2-0 half time score.
St Francis had a decent chance in the 42nd minute to reduce the arrears from Radley Monthy’s through ball to Roddy Monthy but although St Michel reserve goalie Julio Toulon got a hand to the ball, the St Francis striker headed wide.

St Francis reduced the deficit in the 49th minute through Stephane Barallon with a curling shot that sailed over Toulon to make it 1-2.

St Michel raised the tempo and in the 52nd minute Gervais Waye-Hive fed Leeroy Corallie whose shot was saved by Libanotis.
Five minutes later, Joel Barbé’s cross fell to Benahovy who just failed to hit the target with a header.
St Francis also had a decent chance in the 59th minute as Nicolas Atala latched onto a through ball but his shot was deflected into corner.

Three minutes later, Brutus, who was clearly offside, raced through but instead of going for goal, he squared the ball and the danger was cleared.

In the 69th minute, Radley Monthy showed some good footwork to release Roddy Monthy but his control let him down with the goal at his mercy.

In the 88th minute, St Francis should have equalised after a good passing move which involved substitute Michael Payet who set up Stephane Barallon, but with the goal begging he fluffed the chance.

Barallon though made amends deep in injury time as he pounced on a free kick to fire past Toulon at the near post for a 2-2 scoreline.

The St Francis players and supporters celebrated as the match ended for a priceless point.

Coach Patrick Cafrine told Sports Nation that he was very satisfied with his team’s performance especially in the second half. He added that he made some tactical adjustment which paid off in the second period.

Zialor scores twice for Anse Reunion against St Louis Suns

This encounter was always going to be much-anticipated for many reasons, such as former Anse Reunion coach Vojo Gardasevic now helping St Louis Suns and Malagasy striker Jean Del’Or Tsaralaza clashing with his former St Louis Suns teammates.

Anse Reunion opened the score with a brilliant free kick by Philip Zialor in the 14th minute which went in via a post for a 1-0 lead.

St Louis Suns had to react and in the 20th minute, former Anse Reunion midfielder Brian Dorby forced a good save out of goalie Ricky Rose who pushed the ball into corner.

From the resulting corner, Trevor Poiret picked out Mervin Mathiot whose header was tipped over.

Anse Reunion almost doubled their lead in the 25th minute as Julius Adrienne played a short corner to Andy Ernesta whose lofted cross fell to Jean Del’Or whose header produced a point blank save by goalie Alvin Michel.

In the 33rd minute, Andy Ernesta centred to Zialor whose flicked header released Yelvanny Rose but he failed to lob Michel.

Anse Reunion’s second goal in the 35th minute had an element of controversy.  It all started from Denis Barbé’s back pass to Michel which he held. Assistant referee Hansley Petroussse signaled for an infringement and referee Jean-Claude Labrosse duly obliged.

However, St Louis Suns rightly claimed that the back pass had come off the head of an Anse Reunion player. After much protest, the decision stood and Malagasy Jocelyn rolled the indirect free kick to Zialor whose toe-poke flew into the roof of the net for a 2-0 lead.

Three minutes later, Andy Mougal should have cut the deficit as he burst through but goalie Rose produced a great save to deny him.

In the 43rd minute, St Louis Suns scored from Poiret’s free kick which rebounded to Barbé who fired low to make it 2-1.
St Louis Suns continued to press and in the 58th minute from a quick move involving Ryan Antat and Poiret, the latter blasted wide from a good scoring position.

In the 67th minute, Mathiot stole the ball from a ball-watching Anse Reunion defence to link up with Mougal whose shot was deflected into corner.

In the 70th minute, Anse Reunion killed off the contest as Julius Adrienne centered to Yelvanny Rose whose header at the far post found refuge in the net to make it 3-1.

Six minutes later, St Louis Suns’ miserable afternoon was compounded by Mathiot’s sending off as he kicked out at Adrienne out of frustration.

In the 83rd minute, Poiret pounced on a defensive mistake but his cross-cum-shot was dealt with by goalie Rose.

In the 89th minute, Poiret again threatened as he wriggled his way but could not hit the target as his team succumbed to their second league defeat while Anse Reunion maintained their winning streak under their new coaching team.

La Passe win with second half goals

On La Digue, defending champions La Passe bounced back from defeat to register a 3-0 win over LightStars.
Ted Esther opened the scoring in the second half and further goals from Malagasy Eric Rajaobery and Asman Abdou sealed LightStars’ fate.
R. J-L.