Football: Division one league Red Star Defence Forces hammer The Lions 6-1 |21 April 2018
Red Star Defence Forces dominated their match against The Lions on Thursday at Stad Linite, controlling every minute of the match to register a 6-1 win.
Although The Lions kicked off the game, it was Red Star Defence Forces’ Malagasy playmaker Jean Tigana who had the first opportunity to open the scoring but his shot was off target.
The Lions suffered a blow when Christopher Derjacques was substituted due to an injury in the 12th minute as a result of a rough challenge by a Red Star Defence Forces player.
Red Star Defence Forces’ Darwin Rosette opened up the scoring for his team after beating The Lions goalkeeper Raphael Moustache with a perfectly curved ball to make it 1-0.
The Lions tried to hit back when Mohammed Varney crossed the ball into the penalty area, but it was dealt with by Red Star Defence Forces goalkeeper Jerome Dingwall. They tried to strike yet again from a shot by Clariel Rakotongramanitra, but it went over the bar in the 17th minute.
Red Star Defence Forces, on the other hand, wasted very little of their chances as Rosette added to his scoring tally after collecting a pass from teammate Michel Nambintsoa to put the ball in a great spot for a 2-0 score. Nambintsoa also got his name of the score sheet in the first half as his shot following a corner beat goalkeeper Moustache and rolled past the goalline to make it 3-0 with 10 minutes left before halftime.
Red Star Defence Forces came out stronger in the second half when Jocelyn Fenosoa found himself in a one-on-one situation with goalkeeper Moustache and he won the battle to extend his team’s lead to 4-0.
The Lions refused to let Red Star Defence Forces walk away with a clean sheet as Geno Agathine scored their consolation goal after a corner delivered into the box to make it 4-1.
Red Star Defence Forces didn’t appreciate this act and they continued to apply pressure on The Lions. Barry Marie came off the substitutes’ bench to score and bring his team’s score to 5-1 before Fenosoa capitalised on goalkeeper Moustache’s bad form to earn a double as she skillfully avoided The Lions’ custodian to place the ball in the net and put the final nail in the opposing team’s coffin with 10 minutes still left to play for a 6-1 victory.
Red Star Defence Forces players cheered on as the referee blew the final whistle, but there were signs of disappointment on the face of The Lions’ players.
Red Star Defence Forces coach Harold Hoareau was more than delighted with his team’s performance. He said that he made it clear to the players that the win was well needed today (Thursday) after they registered draws in their last two matches.
“We were all out on the offensive and we’re very happy. Our objective for this season is to win a cup, and we’re fighting for the league title. We just have to remain consistent and try to get a win in each match,” said coach Hoareau.
As for The Lions’ acting coach Joel De Commarmond, who took charge of the team as head coach Marc Mathiot is in Djibouti with the Seychelles team who are taking part in the Jeux de la Commission de la Jeunesse et des Sports de l’Océan Indien, said “the game was difficult”.
“Not in terms of our opponents, but more about our limitations and the players. It’s been a difficult season already, but we have to improve the team little by little, maybe we’ll achieve it. We have another game next week, it is going to be equally as difficult, but we need to keep on fighting,” he stated.
Rodney Rose