Football: Airtel Cup - St Michel, St Louis set up final date |23 September 2016
Last year’s beaten finalists St Michel and St Louis set up a final date in the Airtel Cup this Saturday in contrasting style in their second leg matches played on Wednesday afternoon.
St Louis lost 0-1 to defending champions La Passe but still qualified on a 2-1 score after winning the first leg 2-0, while St Michel were held to a 3-3 draw by Anse Reunion and mauling the La Digue 5-0 in the first match.
St Michel held by Anse Reunion
St Michel had bossed the first leg match with a 5-0 thumping of Anse Reunion to make this second leg encounter more or less academical.
Nonetheless, the players of coach Ted Esther tried to make a fight of it in what turned out to be an interesting match especially after St Michel’s Malagasy defender Leonard Besabotsy was shown a straight red card early in this match when he brought down Perry Monnaie in the 9th minute as the burly striker bore on goal. Referee Emile Fred, who was far from the action still adjudged that he warranted an expulsion as he was the last defender and also pointed to the penalty spot though the incident looked to have occurred outside the penalty area and as a result, it was double punishment for St Michel especially as Malagasy Estel Randrina stepped up to shoot past reserve goalkeeper Alvin Michel for a 1-0 lead.
Anse Reunion threatened to re-write the script when in the 15th minute goalkeeper Michel picked up the ball outside the penalty area to concede a free kick in a dangerous area but he did well to tip over Achille Ernesta’s dipping set play for a corner.
St Michel then got their acts together and in the 21st minute, Trevor Poiret tested goalkeeper Ian Ah-Kong with a long range effort and he had to scramble across goal to push away the danger.
St Michel levelled matters four minutes later from a Poiret corner which Leeroy Corallie flicked on at the near post and it fell to the unmarked Malagasy Jocelyn who headed home to make it 1-1.
Three minutes later though, Anse Reunion restored their lead when Monnaie showed blistering pace to find space on the right and he pulled the ball back to Randrina who had all the time in the world to pick his spot as he bagged his brace for a 2-1 advantage.
On the half hour mark, Anse Reunion should have scored a third goal as Stan Fanchette sent in a teasing cross across the face of the St Michel goalmouth but Dieter Constance failed by inches to turn the ball into a begging goal at the far post.
St Michel suffered another setback in the 35th minute when Poiret was struck with a mild asthma attack and had to be held on by colleague Norvil Gaspard before he was replaced by Alex Nibourette.
Nibourette made an instant impact as he galloped past a couple of defenders to centre in the box and there was Gervais Waye-Hive to slide home the ball to make it 2-2.
Anse Reunion nearly took the lead again in the 42nd minute in this topsy-turvy match when Monnaie raced clear and goalkeeper Michel was slow to come out but he redeemed himself with two consecutive blocks to deny Monnaie as the first half ended in a stalemate.
The second half was less dramatic but still quite entertaining and St Michel almost grabbed the lead in the 57th minute, but all three, namely Corallie, Jocelyn and Nibourette, saw their shots charged down after a mêlée in the Anse Reunion penalty area.
In the 65th minute, St Michel also rode their luck from a short back pass from Nelson Laurence which Randrina latched onto but goalkeeper Michel was quick off his line to clear the danger.
Anse Reunion were then reduced to 10 men in the 67th minute when Elton Monnaie committed a nasty foul with a tackle from behind on Waye-Hive to collect his second yellow card and thus his sending off as parity was restored.
Anse Reunion though went ahead in this match for a third time in the 77th minute after Randrina sprung St Michel’s offside trap and unselfishly squared the ball for Fanchette to shoot into an empty net for a 3-2 score.
Nibourette missed a glorious opportunity to level the score a minute later from a teasing cross from Corallie as he directed a free header wide.
Corallie though leveled the score in the 80th minute when he connected to Jocelyn’s curling free kick to guide his glancing header into the net for 3-3 score.
Two minutes later, St Michel almost snatched a winner as Gaspard fed Corallie who in turn set up Laurence whose right shot came off the crossbar as the two teams settled for a draw though St Michel progressed on an 8-3 aggregate to book a place in the final.
Their coach Roddy Victor was just pleased they had not lost after a bad start to the match where they had to play with 10 men.
“We made a bad start with the sending off though I feel it was bit harsh, but we battled our way back into this match and managed to avoid defeat and therefore I’m pleased with the result. I also feel my players were a bit complacent after our good win in the first leg,” the St Michel coach told Sports Nation.
As for the Anse Reunion trainer Ted Esther, he was disappointed with his players for not taking advantage of their superiority in this match especially in the first half.
“I’m disappointed that we did not make the most of our numerical advantage in this match and even in the first leg, we had chances but we did not perform to our capability and therefore I’m not happy with my players as we let slip a chance to reach the final. We now have to focus on improving our league position,” coach Esther said.
La Passe edge St Louis but eliminated
La Passe edged St Louis 1-0 on Praslin on Wednesday afternoon but were eliminated on a 2-1 aggregate as they relinquished their Airtel crown which they have ruled for the last two seasons.
St Louis had won the first leg 2-0 with a controversial second goal and ironically it was this goal that proved decisive in this two-legged semifinal.
La Passe had to go on the offensive on Wednesday but St Louis nearly stunned them when Elijah Tamboo struck the post before Stenio Ernesta gave his team hope in the 29th minute for a 1-0 lead at half time.
La Passe huffed and puffed in the second period but St Louis had packed their defence and though the players of coach Bruno Saindini laid siege to coach Nigel Freminot’s team, they could not reverse the score as St Louis held on to book a place in Saturday’s final much to the joy of their coach.
“It was a tough match for us in this intense heat and we also did not take our chances in the first half though we defended stoutly in the second period. It was important to qualify for this final and I praise my players for the hard work,” the St Louis coach reflected to Sports Nation.
As for La Passe coach Bruno Saindini, he reflected on the controversial penalty decision which returned to haunt them and deny them a chance to defend their crown in the final for a third consecutive season.
“We miss out on the final due to a controversial goal given against my team in the first leg. Today we pushed forward and should have reversed the score in the first half though our opponents packed their defence after the break. We must also congratulate our opponents as well as my players who gave it their best shot,” coach Saindini told Sports Nation as he wished St Louis well for the final.
R. J-L.